


𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 | 𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙂𝙀𝙍𝙎 𝙁𝘼𝙉𝙁𝙄𝘾

by TOMOKI



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Polyamorous Character, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, winter soldier as alter ego
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 42
Words: 61,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21674647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TOMOKI/pseuds/TOMOKI
Summary: AVENGERS X SIREN!READER(Y/N) was a natural-born street racer. Often almost got caught by the cops because of the illegal street driver, but when the job was done, it paid the bills. But before all of that, she was in the militaryBecause of that, she had connections. She owed her friend a favor which ended in (Y/N) captured by the Winter Soldier who seemed to have some sort of past with the woman, landing on SHIElD and Hydra's radar.Who knew she would fall in love along the way?
Relationships: Avengers Team/Reader, Avengers/reader, Bruce Banner/Reader, Clinton Barton/Reader, James ''Bucky'' Barnes/Reader, Loki Laufeyson/Reader, Marvel/Reader, Peter Parker/Reader, Pietro Maximoff/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader, T'Challa/Reader, Tony Stark/Reader, Wanda Maximoff/Reader, natasha Romanoff/reader, thor Odinson/reader, winter soldier/reader
Comments: 55
Kudos: 547





	1. Chapter 1

ᴵ ᵍᵒ ʳᵉᵈ ʰᵒᵗ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵃ ᵈᵉᵐᵒⁿ  
ᴵ ᵍᵒ ᵍʰᵒˢᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ⁿᵒ ᵈᵃᵐⁿ ʳᵉᵃˢᵒⁿ  
ˢᵗᵘᵖⁱᵈ ᵇᵒʸ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᴵ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ʰⁱᵐ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

The woman laid on a skateboard under her car as she fixed whatever was causing the annoying noise as she drove for the last two days, humming under her breath softly. 

It was another regular Saturday for her. The sun shined through into the garage, sounds of birds in the background going unnoticed by her because of the music that blasted into her ears. 

Rolling from under the car, she glanced at her hands that were stained with oil. Grabbing a cloth for her overall's pockets, she walked over to one of the tables in the rather large garage. 

One her ears were deaf to the music she enjoyed as she rummaged through the metal desk, pulling out blueprints to the car she was just working on and going over to see if there were any other final touches on it. 

Seeing that there was none present, she turned back to the car, smirking at her masterpiece before patting her thighs and standing up. 

''Let's get going, baby.''

☆☆☆

Heels clicked against the ground as the woman stepped out her car and walked into the building that was based in Brooklyn. On the outside, it looked rundown, but on the inside, it looked like God had splashed neon all over. 

A woman with bright purple hair and tatted arms stood near the entrance of the building. Her unamused expression went unnoticed to the woman walking up, yet it didn't bother her. 

It amused her. 

"And you are?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. The woman with (E/C) eyes flashed a bright fake smile tow her. ''Here to sign up for the race of course. What else?" they said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

To be honest, it was.

Purple-Haired Brat eyes her up and down. ''Yes this place is for illegal street racing sign-ups, not a quick pit stop for hookers,'' she answered, noting the woman in front of her's outfit. 

It wasn't the revealing outfit ever, but it was close to it. The fishnets under her black skirt did nothing to help hide her ass that showed when she walked, but this is America, and I right? 

You can do whatever you fucking want when you want to. 

The women in heels rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, clearly disliking the people inside the establishment who were all assholes, but she couldn't complain. So was she. She leaned forward and whispered into the Purple-Hair's ear.

''Put Baby Driver on the list, will you?" she said, a smirk creeping onto her face as the woman who stood below her's face paled.

☆☆☆☆

The vibrant red, black, and white Ford GT MK 2 made for scratch rolled up, high beams showing proudly as the car took its place on the road. 

The streets were not empty, but that didn't stop residents in the area to put their cars to the side as they went to the common street show. Others stopped by but continued their business on the roads. 

''Who's this?" Aleximo, an Italian man who was also apart of the race in a bright yellow Lamborghini said as the car rolled up right beside him. He couldn't see inside due to the pitch-black night sky and tinted windows. 

All the person did was let their engine roar before rolling down their window. A woman with smoky red matte lip gloss, shining (E/C) eyes, and a wide smirk on their face stared back at Aleximo. 

''You ready for Baby Driver, sweetheart?"


	2. Chapter 2

ᴬʳⁱˢᵉ, ᵗⁱⁿᵍ ᵗⁱⁿᵍ, ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵍˡⁱᵗᵗᵉʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵍᵒˡᵈ  
ᴵ'ᵛᵉ ᵍᵒᵗ ᶠⁱʳᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ˢᵒᵘˡ  
ᴿⁱˢᵉ ᵘᵖ, ᵗⁱⁿᵍ ᵗⁱⁿᵍ, ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵍˡⁱᵗᵗᵉʳ

⋘──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A groan came from (Y/N) as someone pounded on her door. It was Monday, for heaven's sake. What monster bangs one someone's door on a Monday morning? 

Crawling from under the covers, it revealed her bare thighs that weren't covered by her grey shorts. 

Standing up and glancing in the mirror for a quick second, she noticed the scars the litter her body. Some came from bad car accidents, others from fights and self-inflicted. 

Ignoring them at the moment, she trotted down the stairs to the front door where whoever has banged on her door finally began to knock softer. 

A black cat emerged from the couch and made its way over to its owner. A spiked collar on its neck and bright green eyes stalked over, causing her to bend down and rub in between her feline's ears. 

Swinging the door opened, she sighed as she closed her eyes. ''Listen here, asshole. If you think you can show up here and- WOAH!'' the woman squealed, cutting herself off as she was lifted off the ground. 

''Sam Wilson? What the fuck?!'' she exclaimed, yelling slightly. The chocolate-skinned man chuckled lightly as he laid her back on the ground. 

Fixing her hair that was tangled slightly, she gazed beyond Sam's shoulder, eyes widening at the sight. 

''What the fuck is Steve Rogers and the fucking Black Widow doing here, Wilson?" she hissed towards the man in front of her and sending him a glare. 

Sam smiled sheepishly, showing his adorable tooth gap. The large blonde supersoldier behind him stepped forward. ''I'm sorry, ma'am. We need a placing to lie low,'' the golden boy said. 

(Y/N) eyes gazed over to the redhead as she began speaking. ''Everyone we know is trying to kill us.'' With that, (Y/N)'s eyes went back over to Sam. 

After a moment of silence, she moved back, inviting the three of them in. ''Quickly. My neighbors are very nosey,'' she told them.

After they got in, she quickly closed her door and shut the blinds, making sure no one saw the three of them enter. (Y/N) didn't have people come over to her house often, so of course, the Smith's across the street from her would notice. 

''Bathrooms are down the hall, take two lefts. There's a spare bedroom upstairs if you need it,'' she told Steve and Natasha who both and seemed like they needed it. 

As soon as the two of them were out of the room, (Y/N) glared as hard as she could at Sam. ''What the fuck, man?! You can't just throw me into shit like this!'' she exclaimed.

Sam raised his hands in defense. ''I know, I know, sweetcheeks. But trust me on this, please. You know me,'' he said, giving her that 'look' that could make her or anybody else do anything.

Not anything, you nasties. 

She tried to protest against it, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she sighed, running a hand over her face. 

''Whatever... damn you, Sammy. Help me with the food,'' she said walking over to the kitchen with the man behind her. 

☆☆

Sam came back down with both wanted Avengers following behind him which only seemed to peak (Y/N)'s anxiety above the limit. 

''English breakfast. Nothing special, but I guess it's enough to get the job done,'' she said, shrugging while she placed the food down on the table in front of them. 

Steve looked at her kindly. ''It's enough for us, seeing what we've gone through. Thank you,'' he told her, getting a small, but respectful and heartfelt nod to come from Natasha. 

After the two of them began eating their food, finish quickly as well, (Y/N) grabbed their plates to begin cleaning them, despite Steve's protest. 

Damn precious American soul. Your mama raised you too well. 

''So the question is, who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked, leaning on the table. 

(Y/N) stood near the stove next to Sam who was putting butter on his piece of toast and listening to the conversation just as intently as he was. 

''Pierce,'' Steve said. The named struck some familiarity between her but decided not to comment on it. 

The conversation continued, Sam entering as well. He placed a folder on the table, grabbing the attention of (Y/N) as well who gazed over his shoulder due to her height. 

''Dude, Captain America needs my help. That's no better reason to get back in,'' Sam protested. (Y/N) skipped through the files, recognized Sam next to another soldier next to him. Riley wasn't it?

After a few more words exchanged between the three, Natasha looked over to (Y/N) who wasn't paying the most attention towards the conversation anymore. 

''Sam said you could help. What exactly can you do?" she asked, now dragging the attention of Steve on her. Sam didn't pay much attention already knowing what the woman did. She shrugged her shoulders once again, but now a smile rested on her face. 

''Drive.''


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Accept your death willingly 
> 
> (2) I will do nothing of the sort, Soldier

ᴹᵒᵐᵐʸ, ʷʰʸ ᵈᵒ ⁱ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ˢᵃᵈ?  
ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ⁱ ᵍⁱᵛᵉ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃʷᵃʸ ᵒʳ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵇᵃᵈ?  
"ᴺᵒ, ⁿᵒ, ⁿᵒ, ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜʰᵒᵏᵉ"  
ᴰᵃᵈᵈʸ ᶜʰⁱᵐᵉᵈ ⁱⁿ, "ᴳᵒ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰʳᵒᵃᵗ"

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

They were driving on the highway with a man (Y/N) didn't recognize in the backseat, but didn't speak on it. She somewhat trusted the two Avengers. He played the tough guy, but saw passed his exterior. He was a mama's boy suck-up deep down. 

''Hydra doesn't like leaks,'' he said, earning an eye roll to come from both the woman in the car. ''So why don't you try kicking a cork in it and let me do what I do best?" she sassed to him, ultimately silencing him for the time being. 

Natasha moved upward right beside Steve's ear. ''Insight's launching in 16 hours. We're cutting in a little close here,'' the redhead said.

(Y/N) let the conversation draw out, her attention now focused on the road ahead of her until she felt that something was off. As a street racer, you always had to be observant around the world around you so you wouldn't get killed in action. 

Her eyes drew to the rearview mirror. Nothing was abnormal, just regular cars driving just like she was. So what was itching at her? Maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her?

Your instincts never lie.

A large weight slammed on the roof of the car, causing (Y/N) to swerve slightly in between lanes. She had to resist the urge to throw up when the window glass broke and the guy with glasses was thrown out the window. She hadn't missed when the blood splattered onto a truck that was passing. 

''There's a glock in the glove box,'' (Y/N) said quickly. She swerves to the side once more as Natasha maneuvered herself to the front. A silent blessing came from (Y/N) and Sam when a bullet flew right past her face. 

Suddenly coming to her senses, she slammed on the breaks. The weight that was once on top of the vehicle was gone as whoever was on it had gotten thrown forward. 

Normally, someone would have broken or strained some sort of bone or muscle in their body at that kind of impact, but not this guy. 

Damn, he was in good shape, though. 

Shut up. This is a life or death situation here. 

She didn't have any more time to think as they were rammed from behind, pushing the car forward towards the man in an all-black combat outfit with a visual metal arm. 

''Fuck!'' she yelled, realizing she couldn't move the ca due to the sudden ram. The man jumped back on the roof, breaking that glass in the back of the car. 

Thank the lords we hadn't taken the Impala. Our precious baby. 

A metal arm came through the window. (Y/N) gripped tightly onto the steering wheel, but that wasn't a worry for them anymore as it was ripped straight off. 

What does this man have against cars? Couldn't they just have called the Hulk?!

Grabbing the gun from her belt, Natasha began shooting at the roof of the car. It seemed to send the man off their car, but that black SUV behind them rammed into them once more, smashing the car into a wall. 

(Y/N) cursed loudly under her breath, almost yelling out as Sam grabbed her arm to save her life as the four of them used the car door and Steve's shield to get out of the car that was going to explode into flames soon. 

Sam grabbed her hand, propelling her forward. Using the other, she took out spare as Natasha, Sam, and herself weaved between cars to avoid incoming bullets. 

How the hell did Cap survive that? (Y/N) asked herself when she saw that Steve was thrown forward along with his shield in his hands. 

''Samuel Wilson, I didn't sign up for this bullshit,'' she cursed towards the chocolate-skinned man as she ran to a lone Hydra agent that sat near the edge of the highway. 

The man with the metal arm had yet to noticed her as he jumped down and headed for Natasha. They sound of bullets blasting everywhere ringed in her ears, but that wasn't important right now. 

A mutual curse between Sam and (Y/N) was shared as they saw that the other Hydra agents were going to do the same, but it seemed as if they were going to go for Steve. 

''You take the right,'' Sam called after her. nodding she took the 'unconscious' Hydra agent's gun, replacing her pistol with the large, Soviet one. 

''You know, if you wanted me to be in this kind of action, you could've just asked,'' she teased towards Sam who had just helped her kill of the last remaining men. 

''I thought you didn't want to live that type of life anymore,'' he sassily said back to her. Before she could pass him by with another one of her witty responses, she saw Natasha. 

Instantly, her gun went back up as she found a route off of the highway bridge. Turning around, she shared a look with Sam who cautiously waved her off.

I wonder if you stick magnets onto his arm, would it be hard for him to take them off or would they fall because of the voodoo shit Hydra did?

''Shut up!'' she hissed at herself, but regretted it, seeing as the Soldier's head snapped towards her and paused his hunt for Natasha. 

I hope he doesn't die because of bullets, (Y/N) though, rasing the large gun in her hards and aimed towards his leg, but when the shot was fired, it was blocked by him raising his metal arm, sending it in the other direction.

Screams, fires, and rushed footsteps were heard in her ear, but some reason, all of that was drowned out as she looked and focused on what- who was in front of her. 

They didn't seem human. 

She had heard about the man all of her life. The Winter Soldier. Of course, it was always just a myth so she never really paid attention to it, but that didn't spike her interest in the topic But now that he was standing right in front of him, at least a meter- oH sHiT. He was coming closer.

She fired off more bullets at him, but none of them were effecting nor hitting him. Letting out a harsh breath, she dropped the gun, no longer using it as her weapon. Instead, she pulled out the knife that was strapped around her thigh and got into a defensive position. 

His dark emotionless eyes glared at her as he moved forward, pulling out his much longer knife as if she had just challenged and threatened him to a knife fight for who would win. 

No offense, but you kinda did.

I will actually kill myself if it gets you to shut up. 

(Y/N) almost missed when he swung his fist and knife forward, leaving a streak of scratch paint as she dragged him down the side of the black van. 

''Прими свою смерть охотно (1),'' he grunted as (Y/N)'s feet pushed him back by the chest, earning a glare to come from the woman in front of the Hydra asset when she had heard his words. 

''Я не буду делать ничего подобного, солдат (2),'' she spat, running and weaving through the cars with ease as she tried to find a route of the chaos.

Out the corner of her eyes, she saw Steve following the same path as her. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, she lowered her self so she wouldn't be spotted as she moved faster through the parked cars. 

Just as Steve began running up to her, shield on his arm, a cold hand with brute force with the back of her neck before wrapping fully around. 

Steve's eyes widened slightly as he ran forward quickly, but it didn't help as she started seeing black spots start to pain her vision like an art canvas. 

I really wanted to die a dramatic death, you know? Being flown out of a car after doing a badass trick or off a cliff before eating 20 pounds of ice cream. Not by some sexy muscle assassin. We could add that to our wish-list later. 

She didn't fight back with her thoughts as he fell into a deep abyss of darkness, a muffled ''Bucky?'' entering her pretty much non-existent consciousness as she fell forward. 


	4. Chapter 4

ʸᵒᵘ ᵗᵃˡᵏ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʷᵃʸ  
ᴵᵗ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ ᶠᵃⁱⁿᵗ  
ᴹᵃᵏᵉˢ ᵐᵉ ⁱⁿˢᵉᶜᵘʳᵉ   
ᴮᵘᵗ ᴵ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ᵐᵒʳᵉ, ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵘʳᵉ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A groan escaped from (Y/N)'s mouth as she was welcomed by her blurry vision. Her neck throbbed with pain as someone placed their hand on her thigh.

''Welcome back princess. You worried us,'' (Y/N) heard Sam say as she moved upward, her eyesight finally evening out as she stared back at Sam. 

There were in a car, she knew that. The familiar roar of the SUV's engine brought her to her sense. Her eyes gazed over the two people in black outfits with electric batons in their hands. 

Her nose scrunched up at the smell of iron. (Y/N)'s attention was brought to Natasha who held her head back. Blood visibly oozed from her shoulder where she was shot. God knows what she would do when she saw the Soldier again. 

(Y/n) opened her mouth to say something, but shouldn't bring herself to do so from the amount of pain she had in her neck. Her vocal cords were probably damaged. 

''These girls need medical attention. If she doesn't get pressure on that wound, she'll bleed out,'' Sam protested with a glare. 

(Y/N) didn't have much more time to focus on the conversation as the world around her seemed to darken, pulling her back into that numb, dark abyss. 

☆☆☆

The light murmur of words from around (Y/N) woke her, causing her eyes to flutter open as footsteps left whatever room she was in. 

The pain that once resided in her neck was now just a light pang. There was no doubt there was going to be a bruise on her neck when she looked in the mirror. 

She was on a bed, she could tell. You know, one of those bad makeshift beds that you would find in a run-down hospital in a zombie apocalypse, but slightly better. She could tell because of the fabric that was underneath her. 

Her (E/C) eyes were met with bright blue ones. A small groan of pain escaped from her lips as she leaned upward, but a small smile was plastered on her lips as she stared back at Steve. 

''Hey, golden boy. How are you?" she asked, taking in his worried expression. He let out a dry chuckle as he stared down at his hands. 

''You're asking me if I'm okay when you're the one who got choked?'' he asked, but it was obvious his question was rhetorical. The woman who sat beside him furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at him worriedly. 

Who hurt him and who do I have to kill?

"You don't just hurt physically, Captain. What's going on in that head of yours?" (Y/N) asked, placing her hand on top of his. She was glad when he didn't remove his hand, but rather just accepted it. 

Steve was silent while his face lacked any possible emotion that he was feeling at the moment. (Y/N) knew what it was like to also put on this bright, happy facade when you were around people, but to see them when their walls were down was heartbreaking. 

''I saw him,'' he said after a long period of silence. He squeezed her hand tighter as his eyebrows furrowed. Steve's face was a mixture of confusion and pain. ''It was Bucky. I thought he died in the war. I mourned, (Y/N),'' he said quietly. 

She ran her thumb over the backside of his hand. She knew Hydra were monsters, no doubt about that, but she never thought they would push this far. How could she not know Bucky though? He was the only Howling Commando to die while serving, not to mention he was best friends with Captain America. 

''I... I can't say I know what you're going through because honestly, I don't have a damn clue. This is James Barnes for heaven's sake,'' she huffed. ''But I do know that you Captain fucking America. You can figure this out, I know you can,'' she said before looking back up at the blonde. 

His face was flushed lightly. No doubt that's a blush, she thought. (Y/N) laughed softly as she looked down at her arms before wrapping them around his shoulders, comforting him the best she could. 

Steve didn't say anything for a while, but he did wrap his arms around her waist, returning the hug. ''Thank you, (Y/N),'' he said quietly, his comment getting a hum to come from the woman he was holding. 

''Don't worry. Right now we need you to get your Bucky-Boy back home, don't we?"


	5. Chapter 5

ᵂʰʸ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵉ ˡᵃᵘᵍʰ ⁿᵒʷ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ʷᵉ ᵈⁱᵈ ᵗʰᵉⁿ?  
ᴴᵒʷ ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᴵ ˢᵉᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃᶜʰᵉ ⁱⁿˢᵗᵉᵃᵈ?   
ᴴᵒʷ ᶜᵒᵐᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵒⁿˡʸ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉᵈ ⁱⁿ ᵇᵉᵈ?   
ᴸᵉᵗ'ˢ ᶜˡⁱᵐᵇ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜˡⁱᶠᶠ ᵉᵈᵍᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ʲᵘⁿᵖ ᵃᵍᵃⁱⁿ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

James sat in the metal chair, doctors around him and making a few adjustments to his metal arm. 

Suddenly, the man who was working on his arm was swung into a wall which was followed by a grunt. From the sudden, and violent movement to come from James, all guns were trained on Barnes. 

Footsteps were heard from down the hall as they approached the room. The gate that the Winter Soldier was kept in by opened as Alexander Pierce walked in, dominant and dark power radiating off of him. 

The guns that were trained on the soldier were lowered by a hand gesture from Pierce, but that didn't stop them from keeping the guns ready if there was a planned attack. 

''Mission report,'' Pierce said sternly. Instead of getting a response back, he was met with a blank look with the man with the metal arm. ''Mission report, now,'' Pierce repeated, his tone laced with more anger. 

When he didn't get a response from him, a sickening sound of a slap echoed around the room. As the solider in the chair went back to his original posture, he didn't seem fazed by it but rather used to it. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at Pierce.

''The man on the bridge...'' he said lowly, ''who was he?" James asked the man in the grey suit. ''You met him earlier this week on another assignment,'' Pierce told him, but he was a bit hesitant. 

The expression that was displayed on James' face didn't faze the men in the room, as they were all heartless, but if somewhere were to him now, it wouldn't be a look of fear. No, it would be sadness, anger, and worries poured onto them for the poor man.

''Who was the woman? She... she knew me,'' he told Pierce, eyebrows furrowing even more. 

''Я не буду делать ничего подобного, Солдат.''

James knew her. He couldn't remember where or when, but he knew her. Probably before he got wiped for the many times he did. When he choked her, he knew he should've put a bullet through her skull, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

''I knew them,'' he said. From his statement alone, Pierce sat down in front of him. A look of disappointment plastered amongst his face. 

''You work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century,'' he said, ignoring the glare the Barnes shot at him. ''And I need you to do it one more time.''

Adjusting where he sat, he turned to face James completely. ''Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos. Tomorrow morning, we're going to give it a push,'' he said, amusement hidden behind his words as he held back a smile. 

''But if you can't do your part, I can't do mine. Hydra can't give the world the freedom it deserves.''

Jame's face looked strained, confused, angry, and hurt. ''But I knew him. I knew her. Why do I know her?" he asked, but it was a question towards himself. His voice almost came out as a cry. 

The disappointed look on his Pierce's face didn't go away. Instead, he stood up from the stool he was sitting on. 

''Prep him,'' he said with hesitation, but rather harshly. A doctor came forward worriedly. ''He's been out a cryo freeze for too long,'' he protested. 

''Then wipe him, and start over!'' Pierce hissed, walking out of the room with agents, including Rumlow, following behind him. 

The screams of James' not lowering at all, nor cared for.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Princess
> 
> (2) My Love

ᴮˡᵒᵒᵈ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ˢᵗᵃⁱⁿˢ ʷʰᵉⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢʰᵉᵉᵗˢ ᵃʳᵉ ʷᵃˢʰᵉᵈ  
ˢᵉˣ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˢˡᵉᵉᵖ ʷʰᵉⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˡⁱᵍʰᵗˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᵒᶠᶠ  
ᴷⁱᵈˢ ᵃʳᵉ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ᵈᵉᵖʳᵉˢˢᵉᵈ ʷʰᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈʳᵉˢˢ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ᵘᵖ  
ᴬⁿᵈ ˢʸʳᵘᵖ ⁱˢ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ˢʸʳᵘᵖ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢⁱᵖᵖʸ ᶜᵘᵖ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Despite the pain that still rested on her neck, (Y/N) brought herself out of the makeshift bed that she was in. 

Fury and Hill now accompanied the four of them. The director sat in a chair, one of his arms resting in a sling. Though the silence in the room was laced with high tension. 

''There you are,'' Natasha said. "Thanks for not dying on us, принцесса (1),'' she commented with her arms close to her body. 

(Y/N) smiled softly at the pet name. ''Same foes for you, моя любовь (2),'' she returned with a wink. She missed how Natasha's face flushed slightly. 

The woman's eyes went back to the director. He held a piece of paper in his hands, though the way he was holding and looking at it, it was probably a photo. 

''This man declined the Noble Peace Prize. He said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility,'' Fury said, tossing the photo of Pierce down on the table. 

''See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues.'' Amen to that, man, (Y/N) thought, shrugging her shoulders in a respectful way to agree with Fury. 

''You have to stop the launch,'' Natasha told him, looking towards Steve for a moment before looking back towards Fury. 

He let out a small huff. ''I don't think the council's accepting my calls anymore,'' said Fury, opening the black suitcase that was in front of him. 

''What's that?" (Y/N) asked, taking a step closer to see what was in it. Hill turned a laptop towards them as she began speaking. 

"Once the helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate within sight satellites, becoming fully weaponize,'' she told all of them. 

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own,'' Fury said, motioning to the suitcase within his reach. 

''One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work because if one of those ships remain operational, a whole lot of people are going to die,'' Hill said, a flash of sadness evident on her face. 

''We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is Hydra. To get past them, insert these server blades and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's-''

Steve stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed. ''We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, we're taking down SHIELD,'' he said, interrupting Fury.

(Y/N) was biting back a smile. There was just something so hilarious about seeing America's golden boy talk to someone of such high power. 

''SHIELD Had nothing with you-''

''You gave me this mission. This is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said it yourself. Hydra grew right under your nose and nobody noticed,'' he proclaimed. 

To say Fury was upset would be an understatement. ''Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed,'' he shot back.

''And how many people paid the price before you did?" Steve argued, his question silencing the argument itself. 

He looked around the room. ''Look, I didn't know about Barnes-'' 

''Even if you had, would you have told me, or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, Hydra, it all goes,'' he concluded. 

''He's right,'' Hill said from beside Fury, sending him a quaint nod. He looked to Natasha who just leaned back in her chair, then over to Sam.

''Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower,'' Sam said shrugging. Then Fury looked over to (Y/N), an eyebrow raised. ''I'm just moral support and the driver. I follow blondie,'' she said smiling a bit at Steve. Fury let out a huff or air. 

''Well, it looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.''

☆☆☆

Steve stood on the bridge, hands buried in his pockets as the birds sang quietly and the leaves blew in the wing softly. Yeah, she didn't know him that well, but you could believe her when she said that she didn't like seeing people hurt. 

''He's going to be there, you know,'' she spoke quietly, standing beside Steve. ''I know,'' he said as an immediate response. 

He remained his posture looking forward. Still seemingly lost in thought, but (Y/N) knew that she was listening to her. 

''Whoever he used to be and the guy his is now... I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop,'' (Y/N) said, giving Steve the harsh bit.

The reality of the situation. 

''I don't know if I can do that.'' ''Or he might not give you a chance, Steve. He doesn't know you.''

The first time from the conversation they were having, he looked at her ''He will,'' he said, full of hope. 

Like always, (Y/N) flashed Steve a smile. ''You really just shine with optimism, hmm?'' she joked but was very serious. Steve huffed out a laugh as a smile appeared on his face. 

''Gear up. It's time,'' he said, walking left. (Y/N) followed behind him. ''You're going to wear that?" she asked, eyeing the supersoldier up and down. 

''If you're gonna fight in a war you gotta wear a uniform.''

☆☆☆

"Where did you get that?'' Steve asked, looking at the outfit that (Y/N) was wearing. 

The outfit was similar to Natasha's in a way. Thigh holsters for her pistols, a belt for grenades, fingerless gloves. The only difference was the colors and the collar on her neck. 

(Y/N) smirked. ''It's from my army days, blondie,'' she said. Before he could say anything else to the woman, he jumped down the opening to the room beside the intercoms, pulling out an assault rifle that was attached to her. 

Sam, Steve, and Hill followed close behind as footsteps were heard nearing closer. 

As the door opened, the SHIELD agent's face went into Shock as Steve stepped forward. ''Excuse us,'' he said in an innocent way as the man threw his hands in the air. 

The four of them neared the intercoms. (Y/N) took her gun's safety off as she pulled out one of her many phones.

I knew those 2 years of hacking classes paid off, bitch.

''Pierce's in the office with Romanoff,'' (Y/N) told them. ''Roger that, (L/N),'' Sam said with a smile while (Y/N) bit back a laugh. 

After Steve finished his speech, a range of gunfire could be heard from the lower levels. ''They're initiating launch,'' Hill said to them. 

The three of them were already running towards the helicarriers. ''Hey Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" he asked. ''If they're shooting at you, they're bad.''

''Think you can drop me off, Wilson?" (Y/N) asked. ''Of course,'' he said, taking her in the air as Steve used his shield to land o the ground. 

''Drop me off on the high level first. I got the Hydra agents there,'' she told him. As she landed on the ground, he looked at her with anything but amusement. 

''You know what you're doing?" he asked. ''You can't come back from this,'' he told her. (Y/N) nodded her head. ''I know what to do, Wilson.''

"Stay alive.''

''I can try.''

(Y/N) took out her rifle as Hydra agents approached her. Rolling her eyes, she lifted her gun, landing clean headshots on them. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few agents hide behind a metal crate. Before she could do anything else, a grenade was thrown, making her take cover as it went off. 

''Shit,'' she swore under her breath. ''You okay over there, (L/N)?'' Steve asked. She hummed in responded. ''I'm turning off comms for a bit,'' she told them.

Turning them off before anymore protest, she stood up managing to land a few shots on uncovered Hydra agents. 

''Come on out to play boys,'' she sang teasing and menacingly as she reloaded her gun, then rushing forward.

Feeling a presence and a shift in the air she moved backward quickly, only barely missing the bullet flying past her head. 

''You almost got me there,'' (Y/N) huffed, grabbing the agent and stuffing a grenade in his pocket. SHe could heart the light ticking as she shoved him off the high ramp and in front of the small jet. 

The nade went off as the man his the jet, causing it to fall in the water. Swiftly, (Y/N) maneuvered herself in front of the metal box the agents were in. 

''Places, places, get in your places.

Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces.''

(Y/N)'s eyes were filled with a speck of gold as she felt a pull. The agents in the vicinity's minds to be specific. It had been a while since she had used her powers, so a pang of pain hit against her head. 

Standing and uncovering herself, she moved towards the group of agents. Their minds were now in her control, but the expressions on some of the agents' faces were filled with absolute terror. 

''Kill yourselves quickly. The winner gets to drown at the bottom of the ocean. How about that, boys?" (Y/N) said, stealing a loaded gun from one of the hypnotized agents. 

Running along the edge of the ramp, she turned her comms back on. ''You missed me, guys?' she teased, eyes still glimmering with a spark of gold. 

''Everything okay over there?'' Sam asked, taking note of how many bullets and grunts were going off in the background. ''Don't worry about it. Think you can drop me off near Bravo? I'm done over here,'' she told Sam. 

''Where are you now?" he asked. A grunt escaped (Y/N)'s lips as she jumped off the ramp. ''In the air. Think you can catch me or are you too slow?''

Sam didn't respond as he grabbed one of her arms that were dangling in the air. A sigh of relief came from her. 

''Falcon, (L/N). Status?" Hill voiced. ''Engaging,'' they both said, a few sharp intakes of breath as bullets from a machine gun were fired from behind them. 

''If they hit me, I won't make it. Drop me,'' she said. Sam nodded, handing her one of the server blades. 

Meeting the ground with a loud thud, she pulled out one of the guns from her thigh holsters. ''Alright Cap. I'm in. Sam, cover me from above,'' (Y/N) said, running to the mainframe of the carrier.

Rounds of bullets and explosions went off here and there constantly, but none of them affected her until an explosion hit the bottom of the carrier where she was at. 

''Almost there. Don't get me killed,'' she said, stilling running down to the mainframe, quickly entering the server blade to connect the link. 

Sam was right behind her when she turned around. ''Bravo's locked,'' he told Maria, grabbing (Y/N)'s forearm as he jumped off, flying in the air. ''Two down, one to go.''

''Hey Sam. Gonna need a ride,'' Steve said. ''Rogers, let us know when you're ready,'' he responded. 

An explosion went off on the Alpha carrier. ''I just did,'' the supersoldier yelled. (Y/N) spotted him falling. ''Over there, Wilson!'' she told him. 

Sam dived down to where the man with the shield was. Oh boy, (Y/N) though as she outstretch her arm, planning to grab the man. 

''Gotcha!'' she exclaimed with a loud grunt. He held on tightly as Sam lifted them up to Charlie, getting them on it with a bit if a struggle. 

"Damn, you both are heavier than you look,'' he resorted, shaking his hands a bit. ''Had a big breakfast,'' Steve responded. 

Just as he finished his words, he was shoved harshly to the side, getting thrown off. A glimpse of metal caught (Y/N)'s attention as her eyes widened. 

''Steve!'' Sam yelled, going toward him, but was instead grabbed by the left-wing and thrown back by the Winter Soldier. 

(Y/N) and Falcon both fired off bullets, but they were all easily avoided by the highly trained assassin. 

Right when Sam was about to head off the carrier, the Soldier threw a mini grappling hook at Sam's left-wing, ripping it off before kicking him off the carrier. 

''Dammit!'' (Y/N) yelled, tackling the soldier. A surprised grunt came from the solider on the ground, but he easily got himself back off. 

''Steve doesn't want you dead. Don't make me have to put a bullet through your skull,'' (Y/N) growled as the man with the metal arm charged at her. 

''Sam? Steve?'' she asked worriedly while still fighting the soldier, stabbing him with a knife. Not that it would harm him severely, but it would slow him down. 

''Yeah, I'm still here on the carrier,'' Steve responded. ''I'm grounded,'' Sam told her. ''It's up to you and Cap.''

Grabbing the mini grappling hook that the Soldier had used and dropped on the ground, she brought herself to the same level that Steve was on. Only then did she noticed the blood sliding down her thigh. 

''Steve, I'm coming to you,'' she said in a quick breath, her eyesight blurring for a second before it went back to normal. 

(Y/N) heard Steve before she saw him. She had almost run into him as he halted to a stop. Looking beyond his shoulder, she made out Bucky's large figure. 

How the hell did he get here so fast?

''People are going to die, Buck,'' Steve stated firmly. ''I can't let that happen.'' A silent wave of silence washed over them. 

''Please don't make me do this,'' Steve tried to plead, his voice cracking. Bucky- no the Solider didn't do anything. His dead eyes just glared back at the two of them. 

''Focus on linking the carrier,'' Steve told (Y/N), raising his shield. ''I'll handle him,'' he told her, throwing his hield towards Bucky. 

(Y/N) listened, throwing her self under the bridge and climbing it like monkey bars, the server blade in between her teeth. 

The clang of metal echoed above her. Bullets began to shot off as grunts came from both the men above her, but only a louder grunt came from Steve as a bullet was lodged into his side. 

At least 5 more rounds of bullets were shot off down towards the bridge, throwing (Y/N) off-balance as one of the bullets hit her thigh.

With a small whimper, (Y/N) threw herself back to the surface of the bridge, but landed herself in front of the mainframe. She was close to putting the server blade in but was thrown backward by a brute force, landing near the blonde supersoldier. 

Grunts escaped all three of them. It only took (Y/N) and Steve one second to realize that the blade was thrown near Barnes, but he didn't take note of it. 

Probably because he's more focus on killing them.

Steve landed punches on him as (Y/N) swiped her legs from behind. Steve grabbed (Y/N)'s arm as he was thrown back, grabbing for the server blade as he did so. 

(Y/N) ran for the server blade, but was knocked down as the vibranium shield was thrown at her shoulder blades which was followed by another cry of pain. 

Bucky grabbed for the blade and in doing so, he got grabbed by Rogers and thrown down. 

''Drop it,'' Steve hissed when he saw what that they needed was in their hands. ''Drop it,'' Steve yelled louder, a sickening crack echoing out as a yell came from the man under him. 

Eventually, the blonde got himself in a chokehold. When Bucky began to lose consciousness, he gestured to toward his hand. 

The woman took it, running towards the mainframe despite the pain pounding against her thigh. Rogers followed right behind her after Barnes was knocked out. 

''One minute,'' Hill told them. Steve hanged on part of the ramp as a second bullet went off from behind them. (Y/N) turned around, seeing as now the Soldier was no longer unconscious. 

How the hell-

More shots were fired, only this. ''Upload it!'' Steve yelled at her as he continued to climb upward toward her. 

(Y/n) took the blade out of her blade, close to placing and uploading it to Hill when another bullet made its way to her, a wail elicting from her as she was shot in her abdomen. 

"30 seconds!'' Maria warned them. If I survive this, I am actually going to kill myself, (Y/N) thought as she hissed in pain. 

Despite the pain that now throbbed on both her thigh and abdomen, she leveled herself, leaning on the base of the mainframe for body support as she put the server blade in her other hand. 

''Come on, (Y/N) she groaned inwardly, stretching out her arm, another silent wail of pain to come from her. 

''3...2...1..-''

Ding. 

''Charlie locked,'' (Y/N) huffed, holding pressure onto her abdomen as she saw Steve climb up and kneeled beside her. 

''Alright you two, get out of there,'' Hill told them as she switched the targets onto the three carriers. 

(Y/N) shared a look with Steve, the pain evident in both of their eyes. The (H/C) hair woman cover in blood nodded. ''Fire now,'' Steve instructed towards Hill.

''But Steve-'' ''Do it!'' (Y/N) yelled, then cursed at herself as pure agony riveted throughout her whole body. 

(Y/N) could feel the carrier shake from the explosives and bullets being fired at it as Steve grabbed her, holding her as he moved towards Barnes who was stuck under a large piece of metal. 

''Go ahead. Save em','' she told Steve. ''I'll be fine,'' she lied, leaning on the failing ramps for support. 

''You know me,'' she heard Steve grunt. ''No, I don't!'' he yelled, punching the blonde supersoldier. 

''Your name.. is James... Buchanan Barnes,'' Steve said between heavy pants. Another sickening punch. 

At this point, (Y/N) had dropped to her knees, then rolling onto her back. She threw her comms away. If she died, she wasn't going to die while the others yelled in her ear. 

She had felt the floor give out under her before the black spots painted her vision and felt herself pulled deeper down into the water.

But she felt her arm grabbed before water filled her lungs and she lost consciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

ᴵ ᵖʳᵒᵐⁱˢᵉ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗᵒ ˢˡⁱᵖ ᵇᵃᶜᵏ ⁱⁿᵗᵒ ʰᵃᵇⁱᵗ  
'ᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗᵇʳᵉᵃᵏ ⁱˢ ˢᵃᵛᵛʸ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᵒᵛᵉ ⁱˢ ᵃ ᵇⁱᵗᶜʰ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

(Y/N) took her helmet off as she unmounted her bike, her hair and tangle mess as blood stained her clothes that she decided not to change. 

A black tail hit her legs she walked into to door. ''Hey, Nico. I missed you, too,'' (Y/N) cooed softly. bending down to pet the feline, but the stitches on her abdomen and arm tightened. 

With a hiss of pain, she stood up, holding Nico in her arms as she made her way over to the kitchen to put some water on. 

"Remind me never to agree with anything Sam says ever again, hmm?" she voiced, placing Nico on the counter as she rummaged through the cabinet for tea bags and food. 

''Who took care of you while I was gone?" (Y/N) asked, uneasy as she noticed Nico's refilled bowl. She was gone for a day and a half at most. Nico ate a lot, and there's no way he had thumbs. 

''Immediately after she asked, a clang came from upstairs and (Y/N) pulled out her handgun. Nico meowed softly but followed the woman as she made her way to the attic. 

More shuffling was heard with the occasional silent sneeze here and there from the woman because of the dirty attic that hadn't been cleaned in years.

It only led (Y/N) to have a tighter grip on her gun as she looked behind the many boxes littered and towering her in the attic. 

A louder shuffle came from behind her, as well as a swift movement and change in the air as she turned around just as quick. 

I swear to Thor, you are so damn slow. Have you never seen a horror movie? You're probably going to die. 

A shriek escaped her as she fell to a ground as a heavy force slammed on top of her. At first, she thought it was a shelf or something when someone began to laugh. 

Opening her eyes and seeing as much as she could see in the dark attic. At the moment, she could make out someone dressed in dark red and black, supporting themselves on their knees. 

''That was absolutely hilarious. You should've seen the look on your face!'' a familiar voice said. (Y/N)'s eyes furrowed in confusion until they widened. 

"WADE WHAT THE FUCK?!''

☆☆☆

Wade rubbed his cheek after getting punched in the face repeatedly. He should've known by now to not fuck around with (Y/N) when she had a weapon in her hands, especially in her own home.

She sipped on her steaming hot tea she made a few moments later. Glancing over at Wade, she sent him a glare that would soften in a while. 

"Wilson, how the hell did you get in my house?" she asked. Wade shrugged his shoulders. 

''You know, sweetcheeks, your cat is pretty smart. I think he likes me. I was in the neighborhood, remembered where you lived. You know I love-''

''She broke up with you, didn't she?"

''...Yes..''

(Y/N) sighed as she put her fingers on the bridge of her knows. It didn't surprise her that Wanessa broke up with him. She was a complete ass. No wonder (Y/N) didn't like her. 

''Did you put your bags in the basement?"

''...''

''Do you need help?"

''Yes.''


	8. Chapter 8

ᴵᵗ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ᵇᵃᵈ ⁱᵈᵉᵃ   
ᶜᵃˡˡⁱⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘ ᵘᵖ  
ᵂᵃˢ ˢᵘᶜʰ ᵃ ᵇᵃᵈ ⁱᵈᵉᵃ  
ᴵ'ᵐ ᵗᵒᵗᵃˡˡʸ ᶠᵘᶜᵏᵉᵈ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

2015

''There better be a good reason why I was called here,'' the one and only Tony Stark said as he entered the conference room, a bag of blueberries in his hands. 

Fury rolled his eyes at the billionaire's remark. ''Why yes, because we all love your fashionably late appearances to these meetings,'' he sarcastically said to him. 

Tony scoffed, but we took a seat at the large round table filled with the Avengers. One of his eyebrows arched perfectly when he saw Sam. 

''So we're just letting anybody in here? Might as well just invite Cheryl on the first floor. Who are you?" Stark asked, holding his hand out towards him. 

''Sam took it in his, shaking it firmly. ''Sam Wilson, Falcon, or whatever,'' he said, shrugging his shoulders. 

''Tony Stark, Ironman. You know, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,'' he responded with that snarky Stark humor. 

Getting tired of all the interaction and the situation, Fury threw down a cream-colored folder down on the table in front of the team. 

The redhead assassin in the room too in her hands quickly, skipping through the papers as Steve's eyes scanned over them over her shoulder. 

''Bulgaria? I'm sorry, I didn't think that we were welcomed back in Europe anymore,'' Steve said towards Fury, himself now holding the folder in his hands. 

Maria cleared her throat as she stepped forward. ''Ever since we found out that Hydra still exists, we've been trying to eliminate them the best we can and we can't do that by ourselves. 

We found one of their main bases thanks to the Stark tech that's stationed there. You all will need to clear it out, grab the intel we need, and destroy it,'' she finalized. 

''All of us?" a voice from the corner of the room said. Eyes were on Wanda Maximoff who looked at the director with piercing brown eyes. 

Everyone knew what she meant by that. Ever since Ultron, people, especially the media, didn't like the fact that 'Hydra freaks' were supposed to help protect their world, no matter how much the Twins had helped. 

''Yes, all of you Ms. Maximoff,'' Maria stated, a smile now set on the Sokavian woman's features. 

''Avengers... Assemble''

☆☆☆

''I knew that was a bad idea.''

''I didn't tell you to shoot a hole in the wall!'' 

''You implied it.''

''Heavily. You know he's a Stark,'' Natasha said towards Bruce who was arguing with Tony. 

In response to the team going to the Hydra base for intel, it resulted in hundreds of Hydra agents pouring out of the building, injuring Clint along the way when Tony blasted a hole into one of the walls. 

''Was it really worth it?' Clint panted as he held pressure onto his side, glaring at Tony when he waved a flash drive in his hands. 

''Clearly,'' Steve said, rolling his eyes. ''He'll bleed out before we can make it back to the Tower even if Bruce helps. We need to get him to a hospital or somewhere we can stabilize him.''

Sam nodded towards Steve as he pulled out his phone out of his pocket. He talked on the phone briefly, before ending the call. 

''Bruce? Take us to Southern Romania.''

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

"This is very stupid,'' Wade said, pacing back in forth in the living room in (Y/N)'s home, stilling dressed fully in his suit. 

It was a large log cabin, but looked and felt more like a mansion. It was one of the few homes that stuck out in the town they lived in, costing a fortune. The upside was that it was quite a few ways from the town itself, giving her and Wade about an acre of land. 

Wade wasn't a type of person to settle down for a domestic lifestyle, but he was adjusting to it well with (Y/N) pretty well. 

Until now. 

''It's just Sam; you've met him before. What's wrong now?" [Y/N] asked, running her fingers down Nico's spine who purred contently from the contact. 

''Oh, I'm sorry that he basically HATES me and wants to gut me alive. You don't see the way he looked at me! Why? I don't know. The man's basically your brother.''

He wasn't wrong about that. Sam had always been close with [Y/N] since their army days. [Y/N] became a worrisome mother hen to Sam, while he became an older brother to her. 

Before she could respond back to the mercenary, a loud rumble from the front of the home, causing Wade's eyes to widen from behind the mask. 

''No, I'm not dealing with this!" he yelled, running up the large wooden staircase. (Y/N) didn't care at his antics as someone knocked on the door, but she did care as she saw him go towards her room. 

''Wait, why my room?!"

''Sam wouldn't go in your room. He's scared you'll kill him!''

''You should be scared I'll kill you!"' she yelled back, but couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face before she stood out of her seat, placing Nico on the ground. 

Opening the front door, before she could even greet Sam, she was lifted off of the ground and twirled around in the air, causing her to squeal. 

''Well hello to you too,'' she said to Sam after her feet were back on solid ground. The smile that was once of her face fell as she noticed the quinjet and grime he was covered in. 

A soft sigh left her lips as she closed her eyes. ''Sammy... you told me that you were visiting. Not this,'' she said, a bit angered but lowly as her index and thumb met the bridge of her nose. 

''Come on, sweetcheeks,'' he said, that sheepishly smile creeping onto his features just like they did when SHIELD had gotten compromised. 

''We need a place to lie low.''


	9. Chapter 9

ᴾˡᵃʸ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵐᵉ ᵐʸ ˡᵒᵛᵉ  
ᴵⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵘᵐᵉʳ ˢᵘⁿ   
ᴵ'ˡˡ ᵇᵉ ʷᵃⁱᵗⁱⁿᵍ ⁱᵗ  
ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠᵃᵛᵒʳⁱᵗᵉ ᶜʰᵉˢʰⁱʳᵉ ᵍʳⁱⁿ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

The Avengers wasn't a regular group of people. Anybody in the whole world could tell you that. It wasn't hard for them to get in awkward situations, but this? This was awkward. 

''She's just... an agent they know,'' Tony said hesitantly as he saw Sam spin the woman with (H/C) hair in the air who responded with a squeal.

''Yeah, a very special agent,'' Pietro mocked as he saw Steve hug her by the waist and Natasha let her place a kiss on her cheek. 

Clint was upstairs with (Y/N), the Twins, and Banner. Luckily, and surprisingly, she had everything that they would've had and needed the medbay back at the tower. 

''What is this?" Tony asked with his arms folded around himself as a mini shield from human contact. Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. 

''A friend. She helped us out when SHIELD fell,'' the supersoldier told Stark. Tony raised a questioning eyebrow at the blonde. 

''You seem to be more than friends with her,'' he scoffed, but before anyone else in the room could respond, footsteps were heard from upstairs descending down. 

''Sorry about that,'' Bruce said. The gloves that he was wearing were stained a deep red as the Twins and Clint followed him. 

''You shouldn't even be up right now,'' Natasha said to the ex-assassin, but the dirty blonde shrugged it off as he sat on one of the large couches in the living room. 

''You're lucky he got here on time,'' a new voice said as they came down the stairs. ''I'm guessing you only had 2 more hours before you would've bled out.''

Eyes snapped to the woman with (S/C) skin and (H/C) hair that was pulled up into a messy bun, strands sticking out. Blood was staining her once baby blue jeans, but it didn't bother her at the moment. Laundry would suck as later, though. 

The room went quiet as she made her way over to the kitchen, fixing her a glass of 'water' before moving over to the group. 

''You guys are either nervous about meeting me or terrified because I look like I just exploded someone into pieces.''

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵

(Y/N) missed the way Wanda lightly flinched as a smirk appeared on her face. ''Should I go for the latter?" she asked. 

''They aren't in one of your playful moods, (Y/N),'' Sam told her. (Y/N) rolled her eyes. ''You clearly underestimate me all the time, Wilson.''

Wanda shook her head as she stared at (Y/N). ''Excuse me, but who are you? We've never really heard of you,'' the female Maximoff asked as her brother stood beside her protectively. 

(Y/N)'s (E/C) eyes bore into Wanda's brown ones as she placed her glass of vodka down, then holding her hand out to her. 

''(Y/N) (L/N). No one special, just a friend of the nutjob,'' she said, jabbing her thumb back towards Sam. 

The woman in front of (Y/N) smiled softly, earning a smile back from the woman herself. 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 (𝘠/𝘕)?

''Hey,'' the Stark in the room spoke up. ''What kind of gal are you?" he asked (Y/N) who tilted her head questioningly and blinked.

''What do you mean by that?" ''I'm just saying, are you a Sunset type of girl or no? I don't think I can say you're an angel.''

The corner of the woman's lips went upward. ''Nah, kind of a Joker's or Spencer's girl, you know?''

Tony smirked knowingly. ''A wild one? I'm done with that.'' (Y/N) rolled her eyes, but a laugh had escaped her. 

"What are they talking about?" Steve asked the redhead that was seated right beside him. ''Porn stores,'' Natasha answered, enjoying the way Steve's face flushed. 

(Y/N)'s eyes flickered around the room, only then to realized that the Avengers that were in her house, sitting on her couch. 

''Uh, do you guys want anything to eat?"

☆☆☆

(Y/N) had a quick shower, changing out of her blood-stained clothes before arriving back to the main floor of her home. She was just finishing up putting the food on the table before calling the group of people in. 

To say that they burst into the dining room would be an understatement. The blonde-haired speedster was the first to enter, followed by the red android phasing through her walls. 

It sort of reminded her of when Steve and Natasha were at her house in New York for the first time. It was the same but just less... enchancy.

𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥?

𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱, she snapped to herself. (Y/N) could hear a snicker of laughter come from the mind reader, but didn't speak on it as she smiled. 

''Hope you guys like this. It's not much,'' (Y/N) told them. The team looked at her dumbfounded, besides Sam and Natasha. 

''Not much? It's almost like you made all of this just for us,'' Bruce exclaimed when (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders. The food that was in front of them could be compared to the large amount of food that they eat in 1 month alone. 

''Do you all remember that one time when Sam and I went to Cali for a week and came back with 30 different pies?'' the redhead assassin said. 

It didn't faze (Y/N). It was just one of the many things that she did when she had the time or was bored in general. On most occasions, Wade would be helping her out just because. 

It was regular for the android in the room to be wary of a person entering his life for the first time, but something was just off for him. 

''I have some spare rooms upstairs. I'm pretty lenient on rules because I tend to not follow them myself, but just not to break anything, hm?" (Y/N) told them, stuffing food into her mouth. 

One this was for sure. 

(𝙔/𝙉) 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨


	10. Chapter 10

ˢʰᵉ ˢᵃⁱᵈ ˢʰᵉ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ᵇᵉ ᵃ ᵈᵉⁿᵗⁱˢᵗ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ᵇᵃᵈˡʸ  
ᴵⁿ ˢᶜʰᵒᵒˡ ᵖᵃʸⁱⁿ  
ᶠᵒʳ ᵗᵘᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵈᵒⁱⁿᵍ ᵖᵒʳⁿ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ⱽᵃˡˡᵉʸ  
ᴬᵗ ˡᵉᵃˢᵗ ˢʰᵉ ʷᵒʳᵏⁱⁿ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

(Y/N) woke up to a loud crash from downstairs. She buried her head in the pillow for a quick second before getting out of the bed.

When she opened the door to her bedroom, she saw Bruce Banner standing there, a guilty expression on his face as he messed around with his fingers. 

''What happened?" (Y/N) asked softly but firmly, rubbing the sleep that still remained in her eyes as she tried to wake herself up. 

''A guy the team, besides Sam, didn't know was in your kitchen when we woke up. I'm pretty sure Sam is trying to kill him with a kitchen knife at the moment.''

(Y/N)'s eyes dashed into her room. It wasn't being occupied with herself and the mercenary when she woke up but was lacking life. 

A swift line of cursed left her mouth as she ran down the stairs, Bruce following behind her as quickly as he could. 

''Hey, don't kill me!'' Wade could be heard yelling as he hopped on top of one of the large shelves in the large log cabin. Sam glared sharply at him with a very large kitchen knife in his hands.

"I'll fucking kill you! What did I tell you about being around her?" Sam yelled back at. Some of the Avengers were behind him. Tony sat at the kitchen island, drinking his coffee and on his phone along with Natasha as Steve tried to calm Sam down. 

''SAM!'' (Y/N) yelled loudly, pulling all the attention in the room onto her. Sam and Steve both let out audible gulps when they say the deadly glare on (Y/N)'s face, her feet silently padding on the floor. 

''First of all, you both know not to get any blood in my kitchen. You do that in the basement or outside,'' she said. She didn't care as she saw Wanda move closer to her brother. ''Second, stop threatening Wade!''

Sam continued to glare at the crazy mercenary. ''Just because he can't die doesn't mean he can't feel pain, (Y/N/N).'' That earned the middle finger to come from the Wilson on the shelf. 

The next glare that came from (Y/N) made them both lower their heads. (Y/N) huffed as she held out her hand and Sam grudgingly handed it over. 

''You two act like children,'' she mutter, placing the knife in the holder. This was not how she was planning on waking up on a Tuesday morning. 

Tony let out a low wolf whistle. ''If I knew you would come out of your room like that, I would've made more ruckus sooner,'' he commented, earning a smack on the back of the head from Wanda.

(Y/N) wasn't dressed in skimpy clothing, per se. She did know she had guests over, but that didn't stop her from dressing as comfortable as she could be without being naked (yet). If Steve could see some of her skin, he would be blushing as red as an apple. 

Natasha took the time to see how (Y/N) changed since the last time she had seen her. The sleeveless shirt she wore gave her the view of the rose tattoo on her shoulder. Her thighs clearly got thicker in an attractive way and she started cutting her hair. 

''It means you look good,'' the redhead complimented with a smirk, getting on in return from the woman. 

(Y/N) glanced over at the clock on the wall. ''As much as I would love to talk about how beautiful I am, I have to go to work,'' the woman said, making her way back up the stairs, Wade following her. 

''Does he have to come with you?" Sam groaned. (Y/N) looked over her shoulder. ''Nothing he hasn't seen before,'' she answered with a wink, loving how Sam silently fumed. 

☆☆☆

''Where are you even going?" Clint asked when he saw that (Y/N) was coming back down the stairs. 

Her (H/C) hair cast down to her shoulder while she had a darker shade of (S/C) lipstick on. The checked shirt and black pants hugged her curves perfectly. 

They were gawking, just staring with admiration. That's all. 

''I work at a bar. I should be home by 6:30 ish,'' (Y/N) answered. Pietro stared at her warily. 

''Sam said you work for 7 hours. You should be off around 4. Why out so late?" he asked. (Y/N) bit her tongue as her eyes met Pietro's blue ones for a second. 

''A woman can't have fun nowadays?" she commented with an arched eyebrow. ''I just asked that you all stay out of my room, don't kill Wade, and feed Nico. I'll be back soon,'' she said, placing a kiss on Sam's cheek before she left. 

"Are we going to follow her or no?" Sam asked. 

''You know it.''

☆☆☆

''Have a good day, cuties,'' (Y/N) said with a wink and bit her lip to a pair of men sitting at a table. 

They both shot her smiles. Meanwhile, (Y/N) saw the sparks in their eyes as she turned around. She could tell that they head obscene thoughts swimming around in their heads of what they wanted to do w

However, she paid them no mind as she walked through her section. Her part reeked the most. Whiskey, beer. Any alcohol you name, they had. It flooded her senses with a slight burn and smelt disgusting. 

She loved it. 

Her (E/C) eyes shined under the dimmed darkness and the spotlights scattered around. She stuffed her tips in her tiny black apron before going behind the bar. 

''Is your bar shift almost over Princess? We need you on stage soon,'' Darick, one of (Y/N)'s co-workers that worked in her section said. 

''Wait, what?! I don't go on stage until Thursday. I worked all week last week,'' the woman said to Darick, eyebrows furrowed. 

I suppose I didn't go more in-depth of where (Y/N) worked, no?

Yes, it was a bar, but it was also a strip club. The most popular one in the town as well. (Y/N) didn't like that she had to work at the bar, serve costumers (who were probably registered pedos), and be a stripper to keep her job. But hey, she made bank and it wasn't easy to get where she was. 

Darick shot her a look. ''Uh, yeah. When do you need me to go on?'' she asked, brushing a strand of her (H/C) hair behind her ear. 

''In 20. Be ready,'' he told her. Not resisting or ignoring the demand, (Y/N) nodded her head as she went towards the back where the girls got ready before the went on stage. 

Instantly, she was greeted with a familiar pair of brunettes bright blue eyes. They could easily be recognized as the Two Twins in the building. 

''Hei, Dollface. Sunteți gata să urcați pe scenă? (1),'' the first brunette said, holding a makeup kit in her hands. 

''Te vom avea gata în cel mai scurt timp (2),'' the second one said, holding one of the many signature outfits (Y/N) wore when she went one stage. 

Listening to the two girls, (Y/N) took a seat in the front of one of their vanities. They talked while they worked as if she wasn't there at all. (Y/N) couldn't say that she didn't hate them because she hardly knew them, but she didn't like them that much either.

When they were done, (Y/N) stood a least a foot away from the stage with a metal bar in the middle of it. She let out a soft sigh.

''Let's get this over with. 

·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

''She works here?'' Natasha asked as the group of Avengers entered the packed bar. The stage was clearly visible from where they all stood. 

''Are you sure about this? She just serves drinks and working,'' Steve asked, a slight frown on his face when he was women walking around with hardly any clothes on. 

''There's no harm being done. She didn't say we couldn't leave the house,'' Clint said. The team went to a table in the corner of the building where they had a view of everything in sight. 

A man in dressed in a checkered shirt and black pants, similar to what (Y/N) was wearing when she left the house, walked up to them with a tray of alcohol in his hands. 

''Samuel, good to see you again,'' the man said to Sam as he put drinks on the table. His eyes glazed over the Avengers that were seated with him. ''I see you brought guests.''

Sam waved his hand. ''Yeah, yeah. Whatever Darick. Mind telling us where (Y/N) is?" he asked, clearly not in the mood for any of this. He wasn't being a dick and Darick knew that, he was just protective when it came to (Y/N). 

Before the man in front of them could say anything else, the lights around the building darkened and the lights were directed towards the stage. Darick chuckled. 

''I guess you're about to find out? She's the star of this whole place, anyways.''

Familiar (E/C) eyes scanned over the room, finally landing on the men in the front row. They were always the easiest to please and suck dry of their money. A smirk cast on her lips as she spun around the pole. 

''Well, you sure didn't mention that she was a stripper,'' Pietro said, scoffing when Tony whistled at (Y/N) stripping out of the small number of clothes she was wearing. 

''Oh, I didn't, but we're gonna have a long talk about it when it's over,'' Sam said, his hands clenched into fists.

☆☆☆

(Y/N) huffed as she grabbed her tips from her performance. She couldn't help but like she was being stalked when she was on stage but brushed off the feeling. 

She sat down in front of the vanity in her room, putting her hair into a bun before tossing on her black bra and checkered shirt. 

A knock came on her door as she touched up her makeup. ''Come on in, Derick,'' she said, rolling her eyes. 

''Not Derick, Sweetcheeks,'' she heard Sam say, causing her to freeze in her tracks. Cursing under her breath, she pulled on her black pants. 

You know, we had pictured the day that someone we knew would find out. Sam and the Avengers? This is a massive game-changer and we are totally fucked. 

''Uh, hey Sammy. Did you need something?''


	11. Chapter 11

ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵃˢᵏ qᵘᵉˢᵗⁱᵒⁿˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵃⁿᵃ ᵏⁿᵒʷ  
ᴸᵉᵃʳⁿᵉᵈ ᵐʸ ˡᵉˢˢᵒⁿ ʷᵃʸ ᵗᵒ ˡᵒⁿᵍ ᵃᵍᵒ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Sam followed behind (Y/N) as she walked out of the room, a blank expression on his face while (Y/N) rubbed at her forearm awkwardly and out of habit. 

The Avengers stood in the hallway. Well, not Tony and Clint. They were too busy flirting with the Two Twins. 

Steve silently walked over to (Y/N), but to her, it felt as if he was an angered predatory walking over to his helpless prey. She could basically feel the raging disappointment radiating off of him. 

''Steve-'' ''Let's... Just go,'' he said, placing his hand on her waist and leading her towards the exit. 

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) could see Derick staring at her. A familiar smirk was on his face. She silently scowled and resisted the urge to go over there and slam his head down on a table as she left the building. 

''Backseat,'' the super-soldier said gruffly. (Y/N) obeyed his words before getting in a familiar black SUV. She almost laughed at the memory back in 2014. 

I swear, today is the day I die, (Y/N) thought as she sat in the middle seat. Steve climbed on her left while Sam climbed in on her right. 

Her head was held down, staring down at her shoes while she subconsciously fiddled with her fingers. It was times like these when her ADHD kicked in.

It sucked so fucking much. 

Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on everything but the situation she was in. Wade was at home, taking care of Nico and the acre of land she owned. The kids at the orphanage were probably getting ready for bed. A hand was on her thigh rubbing sooth-

wAiT wHaT-

Well, that was just thrown out the window, wasn't it? Snapping her eyes, the shot over to her left thigh where Steve's hand was, but his attention was on the window to his left. (Y/N)'s eyes seemed to widen as her heartbeat in her ears. 

It means nothing, he doesn't mean it, the voice in the back of her head said as (Y/N) squirmed slightly and kept her gaze forward. Steve clearly didn't like that because the grip on her thigh seemed to get tighter. 

Natasha and Bruce sat in the front two seats. Natasha was driving while Bruce was in the passenger's seat. Bruce looked at the rearview mirror seeing how flushed (Y/N)'s (S/C) skinned face as, causing him to raise an eyebrow. 

(E/C) eyes met Bruce's brown ones in the mirror. Once again, she saw another smirk, only on the scientist's face before the woman put her head back down.

This was gonna be a ride. 

☆☆☆

She sat in the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hands. Steve and Sam stood in front of, arms crossed across their chests and disapproving expression on their faces. 

''What the hell were you thinking?" Sam said. (Y/N) continued sipping on her drink, the strong alcohol giving a pleasant burn down her throat. 

The two continued to rant about how unresponsible she was. It didn't help the dark thoughts that slowly began to slip into her main consciousness. How some men would do horrible things just to get their hands on her. 

(Y/N) suddenly slammed the glass on the counter, hardly almost breaking it into pieces as she did so. 

Most people would have thought that she would hold a sharp glare that would kill everyone in the room and mouth off the two Avengers, but she just ran a hand over her face. 

''I'm tired, okay? I'm not going to degrade myself because of the job I chose as I live my domestic life,'' (Y/N) said. The two men were silent as she huffed. 

She got off of the seat she was on and she went up the wooden stairs to her room, the home sje lived in echoing in the silence. 

She didn't sign up for this shit at all.


	12. Chapter 12

ᴬⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ˢʰᵒʷˢ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ʷʰᵃᵗ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ  
ᴹᵃʸᵇᵉ ʷᵉ'ˡˡ ᵍᵒ ᵗᵒᵍᵉᵗʰᵉʳ & ʲᵘˢᵗ ᶠⁱᵍᵘʳᵉ ⁱᵗ ᵒᵘᵗ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

She had probably only gotten 3 hours of sleep. The stress from what had happened hours before her return home was still fresh in her mind. 

Nico rested on the pillow beside her, purring softly. (Y/N) sighed. At least he managed to stay asleep whilst while she tossed and turned.

Leaning upward, she began to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Her eyes then landed on her phone. 2:31 am. (Y/N) ran her fingers through her (H/C) locks. She was up way too damn early.

After debating on it, she stood and left her room. From where she was, the windows were currently being covered by heavy rain. 

Nearing the kitchen, she filled her teapot with water before putting it on the stove. Since she wasn't going back to sleep. she might as well wake herself up with a nice cup of coffee. 

As she sipped on her now finished and creamed coffee, the rain seemed to get more harsh with the wind. After that, a crack of thunder came out of nowhere and shook the ground outside. 

Instantly, a loud and panicked 'meow' from Nico sounded from upstairs, getting louder as he neared (Y/N). 

An 'oof' escaped from the woman as Nico jumped on her lap, curling up close to her. 

''You're okay, boy. I'll protect you,'' (Y/N) cooed to the black cat. Soothing Nico during times like this was a natural thing to come. It seemed that he never really enjoyed thunderstorms in general. 

As the thunder continued on, (Y/N) ran her fingers on Nico's spine. getting pleased purrs, but the occasional flinch here and there. 

A large whooshing noise came from outside. Maybe for a normal person, they wouldn't have heard it over the loud sounds of nature outside, but (Y/N) wasn't normal at all.

Nico seemed to have heard it as well because he started hissing like crazy and his ears went backward in a defensive way. 

''Calm down, boy. I'm just going to see what it is,'' (Y/N) told the black cat. Eventually, all he did was make small grunts but did in fact seemed to calm down. 

Moving to the couch, she lifted one of the cushions, grabbing her Bailester-Molina that had gold roses and accents on it. Nico was on her shoulder, claws digging into her shoulder as she neared the door.

Another familiar bang sounded from outside, causing (Y/N) to grip on the gun in her hands tighter as if her life depended on it. In a way, it did. She didn't know what was out there and there was no way she was just going to sit and wait. 

Come on, you've done this plenty of times before, (Y/N), her mind shouted at her.

Huffing loudly, (Y/N) opened the door. The rain poured on her from overhead, but she ignored it as she noticed someone standing a few meters away from her. 

Cocking her gun. she warily moved closer. ''Who are you and what are you doing here?" she shouted, throwing sharp daggers with her eyes. Whoever it was, they turned around quickly. 

''Ah, mortal,'' foreign, yet male voice said. As he came closer, a shot rang off close near his foot as (Y/N) held her grounded. 

''Who the hell are you?" she said once again, only angrier. Whoever the man was, he let out a boisterous laugh while continuing to walk forward. 

''You think your mortal toys can hurt me? A god?'' the stranger scoffed. He barked out a laugh while saying so. 

A god? Who does this bitch think he-

Wait...

oH sHiT-

☆☆☆

''Again, I am so sorry your highness,'' (Y/N) repeated as she led Thor into her large home. He seemed to stare around in wonder of it all even though he lived in a grand castle his whole life. 

''No worries, Lady?" the god paused, asking for the woman's name.

''(L/N). (Y/N) (L/N), your highness,'' she said, bowing her head slightly. She heard Nico let out a high pitched growl when Thor went forward and kissed her hand, noting (Y/N)'s slightly flushed face. 

''Where are the others?" Thor asked, looking around the house as if they would just pop out of nowhere. (Y/N) glanced over to the clock on the wall, looking at the time. 3:46 am.

''Most likely still asleep at the time in the guest rooms upstairs. I was just about to start on breakfast. You can help if you'd like?" (Y/N) told the god. 

The blonde smiled brightly despite the dim-lit room. (Y/N) swore that she was going to need to wear sunglasses if she was going to be in a room with him. 

''Of course, Lady (L/N),'' he said, ignoring the mewls that came out of Nico. 

☆☆☆

5:12 AM 

''What's all of this?" Wanda asked as she came down the stairs. The others began to wake as well as Vision phased through the ground. 

Wanda had seemed the thunder god and their temporary home provider wandering around the kitchen as if they had done it before.

Thor saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned around to face the duo, shooting both of them one of his signature bright smiles. ''Lady (L/N) had introduced me to the wonderful taste of pancakes!'' he boasted. 

Vision smiled softly when he saw the pancake mix in the pair's hair, as well as the mix in Nco's pelt. It seemed okay. 

Maybe they could live with this domestic lifestyle. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ACEAI STANDS FOR:
> 
> A  
> C - utting  
> E - dge  
> A - rtifical  
> I - ntelligence
> 
> Pronounce (aye - see - uh)

ᴵ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵗᵃˢᵗᵉ ⁱᵗ, ᵗʰᵉ ᵉⁿᵈ ⁱˢ ᵘᵖᵒⁿ ᵘˢ, ᴵ ˢʷᵉᵃʳ  
ᴳᵒⁿⁿᵃ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ⁱᵗ  
ᴵ'ᵐ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ⁱᵗ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Tony walked in holding a box in his hands. He handed it over to (Y/N) who smiled once she saw what it was. 

''Thanks, Daddy.''

''You're welcome, babe,'' Tony said as he took a seat on the couch. (Y/N), on the other hand, rose from her seat before she left the room, running towards the back of the house. 

Steve spat out the water he was drinking, Bruce looked like Tony had just grown two heads, while the others, beside Natasha and Thor, looked baffled or were stuttering out words. 

''What did you do, Stark?!'' Sam exclaimed angrily. Tony had known that Sam loved (Y/N) as a little sister, but he had a smirk on his face. ''I didn't do anything. I just gave her the parts she wanted,'' the Stark said. 

''What did you even give her?" Steve asked. Tony shrugged his shoulders. ''Some spar parts I had lying around in the quinjet. Said that she could use em' if she needed to,'' he said. 

Tony wouldn't admit it (because of his large ego and stubbornness), but he had grown close to the woman. She got her sexual references, sat down late at night to drink and talk about whatever was on their minds and was just enjoyable in general.

Wade walked down the stairs in his full bodysuit. ''Where's (Y/N)?" he asked. Sam pointed to where (Y/N) had left the room. Wade smiled under that mask where the others couldn't see. 

''Do you know what she's doing? You've lived with her,'' Pietro asked. Wade shrugged his shoulders. Sure, he lived with her, but whatever she did on her own time varied from time to time. 

''Why don't we go and find out?"

☆☆☆

''Come on sweetheart. Give me a big roar. I know you have it in you,'' (Y/N) cooed desperately to her Ford GT MK 2, one of her favorite cars besides the Impala.

That was her Baby and no one would tell her otherwise. 

The woman squealed in delight as the engine turned on, roaring itself to light. It had been a few days, but the car was finally running. 

''ACEAI, how good is she running? I can't be so sure," (Y/N) asked her AI. A purple light ran over the car, turning green once the scan was complete. 

''All functions are completely operational,'' the AI answered. (Y/N) smiled proudly. Her hard work hadn't gone to waste. She would have to thank Tony later for the parts. 

''Are you planning on going on a drive around the acre today? It had been a while since you've entered the garage or in the car," the male voice questioned. (Y/N) smirked as she glanced up at her ceiling. 

''What, did you miss me, ACEAI?"

''Your presence had granted me more worth, yes.''

(Y/N) laughed softly. ''I missed you too, Ace. How does it look outside? Safe for some drifts?" the woman asked, grabbing her signature leather gloves. 

''I'm afraid weather conditions wouldn't bother you anyway. You live for the danger and thrill,'' ACEAI sassed. (Y/N) felt so proud. She had made him so well. 

On one of the many desks that she had around the large garage, she went to one and grabbed a bracelet. It connected her to ACEAI and his mainframe anywhere she went. It had been a while since she'd worn it. 

''I missed this,'' (Y/N) sighed as she hopped into the now fixed. The leathery car and burning gas filled her senses as the engine was turned over. The garage door opened as the hooks holding the car up was released, earning an oof from the woman. 

''Record time across the field is 32 minutes. Are you going to try to beat that record?" ACEAI basically proposed, knowing that (Y/N) was not one to back down a challenge. She huffed. 

Her feet slammed on the gas pedal causing the tires to squeal loudly against the ground before taking off. 

Once a couple of feet away from the large log cabin, music from her speakers in the car started blasting. Underneath (Y/N)'s fingertips, she could feel the strength of the bass pounding. 

The woman weaved through the obstacles she had planted, hills, and ditches. In her eyes, there was a spark in them: a golden one similar to the one that was there when she sang. A smile spread across her face. 

She felt free. 

She hadn't had time to take care of herself that much. She missed her garage and the smell of gas burning, as well as ACEAI. To say the least, the Avengers, most of them and not all of them, acted like children. 

A hard left drift had her giggling like a 3-year-old. Okay, so maybe she was a child at heart, too. 

"10 minutes in, so far,'' the AI mentioned. (Y/N) smirked as she noticed a familiar course. The smooth pavement eased into a gravel of some sort, causing the car to bump up and down constantly. 

''Ace, babe, think we can finish this one?" (Y/N) asked, putting more pressure on the gas pedal. 

It was one of the hardest courses Wade had helped (Y/N) make. The spirals, trees, and ramps. It was made over a month or two ago, but it caused the woman to have a few broken bones when she got far. 

''I think that your chances of success have increased over the past few attempts,'' ACEAI answered truthfully. 

One spiral drift, small burnouts, air drifts, repeat. 

''13 minutes,'' ACEAI said. You have to stop doing that, she thought.

The woman almost winced when she saw the ramp she had broken so many limbs on. God, how she almost regretted everything now. 

You can do this. A broke bone never hurt anybody. 

The music seemed to bluer out any of the natural noses around her and the car, including her heart that beat in her ears. The music seemed to blur and draw that out. 

''14 minutes.''

One spiral drift, small burnous, MORE BURNOUTS, air drifts, repeat. 

''Ready for airborne impact.''

''Oh please don't die. I didn't wear a helmet this time,'' (Y/N) said, telling towards the end as the car ran off the edge of the ramp. 

The nose of the MK 2 dived downward as it near the ramp across from it. Just as the music in the car seemed to die down, it landed on the ground harshly, causing to end her landing with a hard drift. 

Near the house.

In front of the team. 

Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she realized two things. To say the least, it surprised her completely. 

First of all, she hadn't died. That was a big surprise. Second, the team was standing right there as if she had killed their mothers in cold blood right in front of them. Instead of looks of horror, there were looks joy? Well-

''Congratulations, Ms. (L/N). You have completed the 32-minute course in 16 minutes, lowering your record time.''

(Y/N) sighed as she got out of the car, ordering ACEAI to bring it back to the garage. 

''What the hell was that?" Tony exclaimed, astonished for what he had just seen.

''Uh, I just like to drive,'' (Y/N) answered, rubbing at her arms nervously. 

"When we first met, you said you could drive, not that you were a NASCAR driver,'' Natasha said with an eyebrow raised, but a smirk on her face. 

The Avengers had one thing running through their minds at that moment.

They respected that woman a lot more. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'M WARNING YOU
> 
> THE NEXT CHAPTER GONNA HIT DIFFERENT

ᴵ'ᵐ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ˢᵃᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ˡᵒⁿᵉˡʸ  
ᴮᵘᵗ ᴵ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵗᵉˡˡ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᴵ'ᵐ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏⁱⁿᵍ ˢˡᵒʷˡʸ   
ᶜˡᵒˢᵉᵈ ᵈᵒᵒʳˢ, ˡᵒᶜᵏᵉᵈ ⁱⁿ, ⁿᵒ ᵏᵉʸˢ  
ᴷᵉᵉᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᵐʸ ᶠᵉᵉˡⁱⁿᵍˢ ʰⁱᵈᵈᵉⁿ, ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ⁱˢ ⁿᵒ ᵉᵃˢᵉ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

''Steve's a Dorito.''

Everyone's eyes snapped onto (Y/N) who was on a cushioned seat next to them, holding a phone in her hands while Nico laid next to her quietly. 

''What?" Steve asked, confused. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow at him. Had none of them noticed that before? ''They way your shoulders are. It's true,'' she answered with a shrug. 

(Y/n) turned her attention back to her phone, scrolling through Tumblr for memes like she usually did every Friday. The only difference was that a team of superheroes was next to her. 

Pietro looked a Steve for a quick second before a laugh escaped from him as he saw the resemblance. (Y/N) smirked. 

Nico started rubbing his head against his owner's clothed thigh, trying to get her attention. To satisfy him, she scratched under his chin, causing him to purr at the action. 

Thor stared at the interaction between (Y/N) and the black cat with the spiked color intently. Nico's piercing green eyes opened, staring back into Thor's blue orbs.

Nico even seemed to glare at Thor, hissing lowly at the thunder god. Thor was about the stand-up, but there was a knock at the front door. 

''It'll get it,'' (Y/N) said, standing up. Following her and what she did, Nico latched onto the woman's shoulder, looking behind him to glare at Thor more. 

(Y/N) yawned, mainly because of her lack of sleep, before opening the door. Her eyes widened upon the sight of Director Fury and Maria Hil standing next to him/. 

''Fury, Hill,'' (Y/N) greeted with a head not before letting the two members of SHIELD inside her home. The Avengers tenses, fixing their posture in the seats they were seated in. 

''You guys seem to be miserable and lost,'' Fury said to the team. (Y/N) internally frowned. Had they not told Fury where they were? 

"Clint was injured. He would've died if they hadn't stopped here. He's just resting now,'' (Y/N) said. The lie fell from her lips so easily. She could even feel the others questioning her about why she was defending them, but they didn't say anything.

''Tea?" she asked, having gone near the kitchen. Both of them politely declined the offer. Fury turned back to the team. 

''I need you all at HQ by tomorrow. There's a new mission with Hydra that we need all of you on,'' Fury told them. 

The team and basically the leaders of SHIELD continued to talk while (Y/N) remained in the kitchen with Nico who seemed to follow her everywhere she went. The cat seemed to notice her emotional state decrease. 

ACEAI seemed to notice as well. ''Ms. (L/N)? Are you okay? Emotional state levels have reduced greatly,'' he asked. (Y/N) shook her head even though the AI couldn't see her. ''I'm fine, Ace.''

LIES.

(Y/N) didn't want to admit it, but she would miss their company in the large house. Especially when she found out that Wade would be moving out soon. Maybe she would get a dog later? Definitely a large dog, but something low maintenance. They definitely had to get along with Nico. 

(Y/N) sighed as she took a sip from her tea. 

☆☆☆

''I hate this,'' she mumbled under her breath. The guest rooms that the team were in were now barren. It made the home seem colder even though they were still in the house. 

Is it possible to miss a group of people you don't even know?

Going down the stairs. she saw the others with duffle bags on their shoulders, talking amongst each other. Thor was crouching down, muttering something to Nico. (Y/N) though t it was cute. 

Throwing on her mask, she smiled as she neared the team. ''Finally, you guys are leaving. You were eating all my food,'' she teased. Natasha rolled her eyes. ''Please. You have enough food to last 3 more months.''

She smiled genuinely. ''I'm going to miss you guys,'' she said honestly. Natasha could see the pain behind her eyes, but rather than speaking on it, she pulled (Y/N) into a hug. 

''By the way, Steve wanted to talk to you. He's outside near the quinjet,'' the redhead told the woman she had in her arms. (Y/N) nodded and said her goodbyes to the others before heading outside. 

The blonde, well-built man was leaning against the quinjet. When he saw (Y/N), he pushed off of it and began walking towards her. 

''You needed me?" she asked softly. Steve was quiet for a moment as he gazed down at the woman standing in front of him. 

(Y/N) was at least 5'5. Short, but held a lot of anger and dominance in her small figure. Steve noticed a few things over the past few days. Such as how she would bite her rosy lips when she looked around, or how her eyes would shine brightly when she talked to someone, either they were the team or someone she enjoyed to be around. 

''Steve?"

He snapped back into reality. ''Sorry, I spaced out,'' he said. (Y/N) smirked. ''I could tell.''

He took a deep breath. ''I'm going to find Bucky,'' he said. (Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows. ''The Winter Soldier?" she asked. She saw his jaw clenched. ''Sorry.''

''Why do you think you can find him, nonetheless do when you do?" the (S/C)-skinned woman asked. 

''Natasha found some files. He was being, and maybe still is, brainwashed. Maybe we could reverse it.'' (Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows even more if it was possible. 

''Steve... if it's because of the river-''

Steve shook his head. ''It's more than that. He's was my best friend since the '40s,'' the super-soldier said. he reached out and held (Y/N) by her arms gently.

''I need you on this, doll,' he said lowly in a way that made (Y/N)'s knees almost buckle and butterflied began to fly around in her stomach. 

(Y/N) smiled up at the golden boy and nodded, not trusting her words at the moment. His demeanor brightened as he pulled her into a hug. 

''Ahem.''

Both of them jumped at the sudden voice. (Y/N) turned around, seeing the team there. Her heart trembled, remembering that they were leaving. She sent them a sheepish smile. 

''Are we ready to go, Capscile?'' Tony said teasingly, but in all honesty, he wanted to be the one wrapping his arms around the woman.

''We're good,'' Steve said, kind of upset that Tony had interrupted them. 

The loaded onto the quinjet while (Y/N) stood on the porch, arms folded around her chest. She waved at the quinjet as it flew away. 

Her face darkened as the quinjet was out of view. Nico meowed softly before hopping on the wooden ramp she was leaning on. 

He rubbed against her hand, but that did nothing to lift her spirits. He looked in the direction the quinjet had left and meowed softly. 

''I'm going to miss them, too, Nico.''


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Let's finish this. Strip clubs, yay!

''She's gone,'' Sam said, charging into the room with a distressed Steve Rogers following behind him.

''Wait, who's gone?" Clint asked, hopping out of the vents and landing near the couches near a certain redhead. 

''(Y/N).''

*18 HOURS BEFORE*

''Do you really have to leave?" (Y/N) whined, holding onto Wade as he loaded the last lot of his things into his, well (Y/N)'s, car. 

The basically immortal man dressed in black and red laughed. "I told you this already. Colossus basically begged me to be apart of this. Can't back down on blackmail material, can we?"

(Y/N) nodded her head, knowing that she would most likely do the same thing, but she was enjoying the domestic lifestyle so far. 

''We'll treat him just fine,'' a teen that (Y/N) knew as Negasonic Teenage Warhead said, getting out of the truck in a large black trenchcoat. 

Mini Fury, she thought.

''If he doesn't die on the first day,'' she finished, spiking (Y/N)'s anxiety. The metal man known as Colossus noticed this and quickly ended. ''We assured his safety.''

(Y/N) eyed Wade, who she knew was probably smirking under the mask. She slapped him on the back of his head. 

''Hey! What was that for?" he whined like a little toddler. (Y/N) huffed out a breath and shot him a glare. "You are going to do the worst things possible, aren't you?"

Wade nodded. (Y/N) sighed like an overly disappointed mother. ''I know I can't stop you, but don't give them a problem,'' she scolded. 

Wade wrapped the woman in a hug. Pushing up on the balls of her feet, she reached his ear. ''Record it and send all of your pranks to me,'' she whispered. Pulling back, Wade nodded at her. 

''See you, (Y/N/N),'' the mercenary said as he drove off, following the large truck off of her large acre of land. 

Something sharp hit (Y/N)'s ankle, causing her to look downward. "Nico?" she asked, crouching down to pet the feline. ''What's up?" she asked. 

Of course, the animal didn't respond but just stared back at her. However, (Y/N) just bent down and carried him inside.

''What should we do today?" she said aloud as she went into the kitchen. ''Bake? I have time for it, I suppose.''

Nico meowed as if he was saying 'no' to what she had said. The black tabby moved over to a calendar raising his paw over to the day's date. 

At first, (Y/N) was wondering what the cat was implying, then groaned when she realized what today was. 

She hated that damn bar. 

☆☆☆

''Can't wait to see you on the stage, babe,'' an elderly man said to (Y/N). She was currently on her bartender shift but would go on stage soon. 

(Y/N) had guys come to the bar, especially for her, all the time. It was a strip club, technically. Lap danced were given from time to time, but nothing serious. 

However, there were guys who memoried her schedule, what section she would go to first (though she randomized it sometimes), when she went on stage. You know, usual stalker things. 

''I hope I give you what you came for,'' the (S/C) skinned woman flirted back. It disgusted her to act the way she did but had to keep up her image in the place. 

The man called her babe one more time before he got up to get a good seat near the stage. A shiver ran down her spine. She didn't like it. 

How come it didn't affect her when Tony said it? that snarky voice in the back of her head said. (Y/N) would usually argue, but it was right. 

Why didn't it?

The woman stilled at the thought, but also the fact that she felt her eyes on her. The curious side of (Y/N) wanted to turn around and see who it was, but she was smart enough to not do that. 

She just continued serving drinks to costumers, but she was still warily tense. So tense that she flinched when a hand was placed on her shoulder. 

''Princess,'' Derick said, addressing her by her stage name for confidential reasons. "We need you on stage soon.'' (Y/N) huffed, managing to push back some of her hair that dangled in front of her face. 

''Do I have to? Can't I get a damn break from this place? Better yet, the stage?" she whined, but anger was laced clearly behind her words. 

Darick sent her a warning look. ''You know what you signed up for when you applied for this job,'' he grunted lowly so no one else near them could hear. ''Deal with it.''

It was just something with those words that ticked her off and was her last straw. ''That's easy for you to say! You don't work a whole week prancing your naked ass around! No, you have no fucking clue. So don't tell me to just 'deal with it', Derick!'' she shouted. 

Even in the disco-lit bar, her eyes turned a dangerous yellow color. The only reason (Y/N) noticed was because of the reflection she was in empty glasses. 

Aware of all the eyes on her, she sighed and walked to the backroom. Walking over to the vanity room, she saw the Twins standing there already. 

''Să terminăm asta. Strip cluburi, da! (1)"

☆☆☆

''Thank you, boys,'' (Y/N) said with a wink as she went down the stairs that led off stage. As soon as she was, the fake smile that was plastered on her face fell and her eyes darkened in a way you would when your siblings were being obnoxious. 

''You look tired,'' a voice sounded from behind the stripper that was once on the stage. Eyes rolled to the back of her head before they came back. Why can't I get a break?

''Bethany,'' she deadpanned, ''I'm not in the mood right now.'' The smile of the blue-eyed bimbo's face seemed to grow due to her frustration. 

''News has gone around that you managed to piss off Darick. Not many have the balls to even do that,'' Bethany snarked. ''What'd you do? Sleep with his girl?" she said jealously. 

It was no shocker to (Y/N) that some of the women who worked in the establishment actually liked their jobs. Better yet, liking some of the men that were there. Derick if we were being specific.

''No, I didn't. I mouthed em' off. What? Are you that horny that you wouldn't point out the obvious flaws about all of this?'' (Y/N) gestured with her hands. 

The woman sighed as she put her (H/C) hair into a messy bun. Have a good night, Bethany,'' she said, strutting off.

She could still hear the blondie mouthing off about her, but (Y/N) didn't speak on it. 

Why did this place suck more when they weren't around?

☆☆☆

The black Chevy Impala slid into the garage as the woman pulled up into her home. 

To say the least, she was complete and utterly exhausted. It was early spring so the bright flowers around the large cabin seemed to throw off her mood. 

Instantly, she sought the company of her black feline. (Y/N) looked over to the wooden ramp Nico tended to sit when he waited for her to return home, but he wasn't there.

''Nico?" she called out after rolling down her window. There was no response from the cat. Not even a rustle of wind indicating that he was near. 

She reached into her glove department, grabbing the bracelet that connected her to ACEAI and ruby-jeweled pistol. 

Scan the building for anything,'' (Y/N) told the AI, smoothly taking the safety off of the firearm as she approached her house. 

''The only thermal signature that has been spotted is Nico's. My systems tell me that he is unconscious,'' the AI told her. The woman's lips formed into a straight line. Why didn't Nico come to her?

Rushing her door open, she warily entered. It was cold inside her home, something that she wasn't used to at all even though she lived in Romania. 

The wooden planks on the floor creaked with each step she took. The woman didn't see to notice that until now. A shakey breath came from her. 

''Hello, Princess. How was your shift?" a voice rang out within the 'empty' house. 

She flinched badly. The voice was awfully familiar. Her eyes looked over into the kitchen where Derick stood, a smirk plastered across his facial features. 

He looked different. The dreds that he usually had draped over his shoulders were cut down, now remaining in a small bun. He was dressed in all black which explained at first why she couldn't see him, and a red-stitched octopus onto a patch on his upper forearm. 

''D-Derick?" she stuttered, hands gripping tightly onto the gun in her hand. Derick scoffed. 

''Derick, Derick, Derick. I always hated that name,'' he said, rolling his eyes. "Though, you don't need to know my real name. You might not even remember after what we do to you,'' he chuckled. 

(Y/N)'s eyes darkened. She knew what that implied and there was no way she would let them take her and put her brain into a blender. 

''You wish,'' she snarled, raising her gun and aiming it at the tanned man's head. (Y/N) was about the shoot for the kill, but something shifted behind her and pressed against her back. 

''I don't think the boss would like it if you killed one of his best men, Princess,'' a male voice from behind her purred into her ear. 

A gun she thought. It was pressed into the small of her back. Darick, whatever his name was, gestured to the gun in (Y/N)'s hands. Huffing, she threw it forward. 

After that, something sharp and cold made contact with her neck, pricking and piercing her skin. "What is-'' she went to turn around to face the man, but she found out that she couldn't move. Why couldn't she move?

Then, that was when the reality of everything had set in. 

They had paralyzed her. She was completely powerless. She couldn't move, she couldn't talk. A lump formed in the back of her throat when she realized there was no way out of this. 

She wouldn't see Nico, she sweet little feline again. She wouldn't hear Sam and Steve rant off about how childless and reckless that she was. 

Fuck she thought as a few loose tears fell from her eyes that were glazed over. Both of the men stared and chuckled at her. 

In her ears, she could head car engined approaching the house. Her solitude, they were taking it away. She should've known that it wouldn't last long. Darick went outside as the other man stayed with her, gun pressed against her back even though she couldn't move. 

LISTEN! the voice in the back of her head yelled at her. (Y/N) flinched toward at the sudden sound. 

HE'S HERE! they yelled again. (Y/N)'s brows, but then that's when she felt it. Another presence was near, but for some reason, she knew whoever, or whatever it was, they were, they weren't doing to hurt her. 

DOWN!

Despite her body that was frozen, she forced herself forward, eyes shining gold. A shot rang in her ears as a thump sounded behind her. 

Looking behind her, she saw that the man who injected her with something and pressed a gun against her back, a bullet was clearly present in the middle of his head. 

Footfalls against the wooden planks alerted her as she grabbed the gun that she had thrown on the floor. 

Derick and other Hydra agents ran in, seeing one of their own sitting dead on the ground. More shots from both sides sounded off from the unknown person, as well as herself.

''You little-'' (Y/N) silenced Derick off with a bullet to the leg. He moaned in pain as he collapsed on the floor. Pulling out her knife, she slit his neck so she could save her shots. They mattered more than his life. 

The mixture of splattered blood and sweat dripped down her body. The smell made (Y/N) want to hurl. Bodied littered around the cabin that was once a safe haven for her. It sent her mind into a frenzy. Her domestic streak was over. 

BEHIND YOU. 

Before she could even run, a hand covered over with a cloth was put over her mouth. (Y/N) struggled against the man and the force that was holding her in place, but it only caused the grip on her to get tighter. 

''Don't struggle,'' a deep voice grunted. ''It'll be over soon,'' they said quietly.

They continued saying words, but (Y/N) didn't hear anything. Her eyes shut as she was overcome by darkness. 

*PRESENT*

''She's gone,'' Sam said, charging into the room with a distressed Steve Rogers following behind him.

''Wait, who's gone?" Clint asked, hopping out of the vents and landing near the couches near a certain redhead. 

''(Y/N),'' Sam answered.

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Wanda and Natasha demanded in sync. Natasha stood up from where she sat. 

Although it wasn't evident on her face because it was hidden by anger, but she was worried. No, scratch that, she was terrified. "Do you know anything?" she asked. 

Sam shook his head. ''The Twins contacted us later. Her home... they're bodies everywhere,'' he rushed out, eyes glazed over. 

''And hers?" Tony asked, joining in on the conversation. Silence. Steve stood forward. ''She..'' he stopped himself before continuing. 

''Hydra was there.''


	16. Chapter 16

ᴸⁱᶠᵉ ⁱˢⁿ'ᵗ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ʷʰᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ⁱᵗ'ᵈ ᵇᵉ   
ᵀᵘʳⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʰᵉᵃᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵒⁿᵉ ˢᵉᶜᵒⁿᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗᵃᵇˡᵉˢ ᵗᵘʳⁿ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

*2 DAYS BEFORE*

Thor stood up from where he was seated, grabbing the black feline that pranced around the house by their spike collar, getting and ignoring their mewls of protest. 

Nico stared up at the thunder god, glaring up at him when he sat him down on the wooden floor near the door.

Meow! the cat yelling, going forward and retracting his claws to scratch Thor across the cheek. Thor squatted down at that moment, swatting the paw away at the cat's movement. 

''I know it's you, brother,'' Thor said, a frown on his face. It had been a while since he had since seen his brother. Alive, at least. The last time he had seen him alive was on Svartalfheim with the Dark Elves. 

The cat's eyes widened and their pupils dilated before they went back to normal, staring right into the god's blue eyes, acting as if he didn't actually understand anything they just said. Meow? Nico said with a head tilt. 

Thor sighed. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just another stuck up cat that seemed to share a similar attitude with his exasperating, dramatic brother. 

A paw swatted at the god's knee, hitting and leaving a mark there. Thor, however, didn't wince. He had grown used to small pains in his legs having to deal with a shape-shifting brother who liked to turn into snakes and stab him.

Suddenly, both of their heads turned to the side facing the stairs as footsteps descended down them. (Y/N) walked down the stairs. When she turned to face them, the fake smile that was plastered on her face was transparent to them. 

Nico gave low hiss as he saw (Y/N) share a hug with Natasha, a wave of protectiveness washing over him. Thor noted the gesture. 

Thor hadn't known the woman who welcomed him into her home for long, but he respected her. Especially the fact that she was educated on some of the Norse gods and some of their stories that had reached Midgard. 

''Brother, I know you do not like me or choose to return to Asgard, but if you're going to stay here, do me a favor, hmm?'' 

Nico tilted his head, his silent way of asking what the favor was. 

''Protect her, will you?"

*PRESENT*

The car's motor hummed soothingly as the wheels scratched effortlessly against the gravel road. Ever now and then, the wheels would shriek at some of the maneuvers and turns. 

Loki crept up from the tan three-seater backseat, green eyes glinting brightly even in the darkness of the light. 

In a completely silent manner, using his hind leg, he pushed up until his front paws were on the armrest that separated (Y/N) and her kidnapper. 

He was ridiculously silent. As if he was quiet just so that if (Y/N) would wake up, he could know before she even realized who he was and where she was headed. 

The sun was just starting to touch the horizon, the black sky turning yellow and orange at the line as a groan escaped from (Y/N)'s mouth, a cling from the metal handcuffs she was in chiming.

A murmur of incoherent words left her mouth as her eyes began to open. As soon as they did, she recognized her Impala's tan dashboard and her reflective black hood cover she could see through the window. 

Recognizing that she was in her car and that she wasn't the driving it, her eyes went tp the next best thing: the person in the driver's seat. About to yell a spur of curses to her kidnapper, she stopped herself once she saw his face. 

It wasn't human. Well, not the person next to her, but their expression. There was no emotion is his face as he drove. It was clear, yet looked angry at the same time, even in the rising of dawn where she could only see the good gleams on sunlight. 

As he looked forward at the road, the light reflected onto his striking ocean blue eyes. If he looked in her direction, (Y/N) swore his glare could kill, but she had only seen them a few times. Her eyes flashed back to fall of SHIELD. 

Dead, confused, hurt, angry. 

The soldier huffed out. It wasn't like an angry huff, more like an annoyed huff at her obvious staring. (Y/N) didn't know that, flinching back into her seat. Although she couldn't see it, she could tell that his metal hand was on a weapon that would hurt or end her life if she tried anything. 

No, fuck that. He could just use his hand to kill me. 

At the gesture he had given her, she looked around her car without trying to draw attention to herself. At least he had taken her baby. If she was left anywhere, she would make the soldier turn around in whatever mutt they were in to go get her back. 

The metal cuffs around her wrist finally came to her awareness as she looked down at her hands. There was no way she would open the door and jump out seeing how fast they were going down the road. How had she not woken up before? She'd break a limb or two. Maybe even if she did get out, he would probably put a bullet through her skull without hesitation. Maybe she could try...

Almost as if he could read her mind, the soldier's flesh hand let go of the wheel, driving with his metal hand. A knife was in his hand and pressed against her thigh warning. ''Don't try anything,'' he grunted, eyes still locked onto the road but (Y/N) felt as if they were staring into her soul. 

The knife was removed as she nodded, then bringing her legs up to her chest. Her consciousness was quiet (which was new) and hadn't come up with a threat yet, even though the soldier gave off a dark aura. 

(Y/N) could tell that wherever the agents had given her hours, days, who knows how long ago, disabled her powers, making her basically human and useless if she got into a fight with the soldier. There was no way she had trained as hard as Natasha for that. 

Drowsiness that was still awake in her system overrode her fear and anxiety as she watched the trees pass by them, coaxing her eyes to close and listen to the roar of the Impala lure her to sleep. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been updating lately! I've been busy with other works!

ᵀᵃˡᵉˢ ᵒᶠ ᵃⁿ ᵉⁿᵈˡᵉˢˢ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ  
ᶜᵘʳˢᵉᵈ ⁱˢ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵒᵒˡ ʷʰᵒ'ˢ ʷⁱˡˡⁱⁿᵍ  
ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃʸ ʷᵉ ᵃʳᵉ  
ᴼⁿᵉ ᵏⁱˢˢ ᵃʷᵃʸ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵏⁱˡˡⁱⁿᵍ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

This time when (Y/N) woke up, she was on the bed, her hands were raised over her head unwillingly.

Even with her eyes open, she couldn't see anything in front of her, almost as if all the lights in the world had been shut off around her. 

Getting off of her back somewhat, she tugged against her restraints, the metal sound of handcuffs hitting against what she thought was wood or hard plastic echoing throughout the room. 

''You're fucking with me!'' she hissed, both out of pain and frustration. It took a while after her tugging to realize the aching in her wrist to come into notice. 

Footsteps sounded from down the hall, making (Y/N)'s heart beat harshly against her chest. How the hell could she forget about the person who had kidnapped her from her own home (even though he kind of saved her)?

Light split into the dark room as the door opened. The light blinded (Y/N)'s slightly, the brightness differing her eye sensitivity. As her eyes evened out, she could make out the familiar glint of a metal arm. 

The soldier's silhouette moved closer. Usually, (Y/N) would fight back with sarcasm and attitude, but now powerless, fear crept onto her spine. 

The light flickered on in the room, now reveal her and the soldier's features. His stormy, ocean blue eyes stared down on her. Disregarding her fear, she sent a glare to the master assassin. 

''What the hell do you want from me?" she hissed, pulling her wrist against the restraints despite the pain it endured on her. ''You're a fucking asshole!'' she shouted.

Of course, she didn't get a response. She wasn't expecting one in the first place, but something about him just standing there, staring down at her, not saying 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, just put her in a foul mood. 

''Say something you dick!" she yelled again. The soldier continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before turning around, silent yet heavy footsteps going down the hallway. 

(Y/N) threw her head back (hitting it in the process) in frustration. She would take torture over 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 any day. The silent Russian-made soldier would see her downfall that she made had not he did not cause it. 

That got her thinking. Ever since the fall of SHIELD, she had been running from everything. Whether it was AIM or Hydra. Hell, she even ran away from SHIELD once when she heard they were rebuilding themselves. 

𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦? she thought. Another thing was if he was, why the hell didn't he just drop her off and one of the (many) hidden bases they had? It didn't make any sense. 

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺? one of part of consciousness declared, deciding to speak after a few hours of silence. The words rattled around in her head for a good while before the thought and voices went silent again. 

𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵, another part of her argued. It didn't seem right to her. None of it did. Guiltily in her free time, she went through the Winter Soldier files Steve had sent her. He was brainwashed, right? And one thing she knew for sure was that the Winter Soldier wasn't brought out unless it was to kill someone. 

Would they really tell him to use one of 𝘩𝘦𝘳 cars or to kill some of their own agents? No, that would be stupid and a waste. 

While (Y/N) went over the rattled theories in her head, the sound the mewling protest of an animal brought her back to her sense.

Bucky- no the soldier's (she had to remember there was a difference between the two) silhouette came back into view. The only difference now was that his metal hand was holding something in their hands. 

''What the hell are you doing?!'' she asked frightenedly, instinctively backing up against the headboard even if she couldn't move at all. 

He kept coming closer, but soon, (Y/N) came to recognize the small creature in her grasp. Annoyed yet wide green eyes with blue around the thin slit-pupils stared back at her. 

''Nico?" the woman bellowed with confusion and relief. She had completely forgotten about her feline companion? Her cat cried out to its owner, wiggling towards her to get out of the metal grip. 

The soldier put the cat on the bed next to her with a grunt that could be associated with annoyance. He stared at her for a moment before turning away out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. 

Nico made his way into (Y/N)'s lap protectively, but (Y/N) just stared at the door with a blank look on her face, mouth opened wide with her disbelief. 

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥?


	18. Chapter 18

ᴵ ˡᵃᵘᵍʰ ᵃˡᵒⁿᵍ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ⁿᵒᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ'ˢ ʷʳᵒⁿᵍ, ᶠᵒᵘʳ ᵈᵃʸˢ ʰᵃˢ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ᶠᵉˡᵗ ˢᵒ ˡᵒⁿᵍ  
ᴵᶠ ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ᶜʳᵒʷᵈ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʷᵒ ʷᵃˢ ᵘˢ, ᵒⁿᵉ ˢˡⁱᵖᵖᵉᵈ ᵃʷᵃʸ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

It had been, what, three days since the Winter Soldier had taken her away from her? You know, as an introvert somewhat, she really wanted to go outside now. 

At this point, her consciousness battled with reality too much for her liking at the moment. The Soldier had saved her from certain doom from Hydra taking her away and using her as a weapon but became his prisoner in the process. 

A sigh escaped her lips at the thoughts running through her head. At the gentle gesture, the black feline that slept on her shoulder, nuzzling his fuzzy face in the crook of her neck, woke up. 

''I'm good, boy. You don't have to worry about me,'' she told Nico. She could've sworn she saw Nico rolled his eyes as if to say, ''You really think I would let you go that easy?"

She could tell that bruises had already formed around her wrist from the handcuffs. Every single time she made a movement, there would be a dull ache present, making her wince in pain at times. 

She eyed the door when she heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Sure, she'd lost her siren and enhanced strength abilities, but from her army days, hearing tiny noises were a natural and needed quality to have to you wanted to survive. 

One thing she learned and hated about the Soldier was that he was very tactical, skilled when he wanted things to go unnoticed. Yes, a stupid ability to despise, but it was being used against her. It bothered her. He randomized when he'd come to see her so she'd never get used to his schedule. 

Smart. 

It killed her (on the inside). She didn't know when he woke up nor when he went to sleep. If she was going to get out of here, 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 at that, she'd need to figure out and know a crack in the way he did things. 

He walked in, the classic stone-faced expression on his face never seemed to waver. His eyes wandered until they landed on hers the minute he walked in. He did it every time. (Y/N) didn't know if she was supposed to be comfortable with it by now. Still, the meaningless action made her heart stagger as she brought her knees to her chest. 

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, she consoled herself. 

(Y/N)'s eyes then snapped down to what he was holding in his hands. A plate. She didn't what was on it, no, but the thought of there being food there made her stomach growl. When was the last time she ate? At least she didn't have to worry about starving to death (for the time being). 

He sat down at the bed next to her. From the angle, she could see what was on the plate. It looked like a typical ham, cheese, and bacon croissant with a chocolate muffin on the side. On any other occasion, she would've gotten something else, but right now, it seemed like the best thing. 

(Y/N) eyed the food, then back to the soldier. She didn't have to worry about his drugging or poisoning it because he could've killed her ages ago. No, that wasn't it. ''You can't really expect me to eat this like 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, right?'' The woman opened her palms. Maybe he wasn't smart enough to get the hint?

The soldier grunted. It was one of the only responses she got out of the man-soldier. That's what he was. She 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to keep reminding her self of that. There 𝘪𝘴 a difference. 

He held the croissant in his flesh hand near her mouth. (Y/N)'s widened. ''No,'' she hissed, glaring at him. ''I'm not a dog.'' The soldier glared back at her twice as hard. It made her gaze wavered because his eyes were always emotionless. It was like looking down a tunnel of death. 

''Eat, or you get nothing,'' his raspy, deep voice let out. It was almost as if he hadn't talked in years, and if he did, he consisted only of screams of agony. He gestured to the food to her once again. ''Eat.''

(Y/N) stared at the food in front of her. Begrudgingly, she opened her mouth, rolling her eyes in the process. As she took a bite, she swore she saw his lips upturn into a smirk for a second he put the mood in her mouth. 

(Y/N) had to admit the feeling even though she hated it, but someone feeding her like this made her feel like a princess. Getting pampered. It had to be some sort of aftercare kink she was into. Not 𝘩𝘪𝘮. It couldn't be. 

A moan left her mouth at the taste of the food, causing the solider to still and stare at her like she was crazy. However, (Y/N) didn't care about embarrassing herself (too much) and let out a pleasurable sigh when she swallowed what was left in her throat. 

''Did you make this?" she asked absentmindedly, always one for conversation. Despite behind handcuff to a bed, she inched closer. '''This is absolutely delicious. You have to feed be some more, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦?''

Winter continued to stare at her like she was crazy and that's when the reality gears and her head started turning. This was her kidnapper. An assassin who was being hunted both by SHIELD and Hydra. She was smiling at him, acting like he was a normal person. Someone who 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 to pamper 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 

Her smile fell just as fast as it was on her face. She needed to get out of her. It could be her downfall if she allowed someone to get close to her. 

''Thanks,'' she said, backing away. The soldier tilted his head slightly, almost what a lost puppy would do before he grunted and up and left to room. 

Nico walked onto (Y/N)'s lap as she threw her head back. Leaning up as much as she could, she looked at her cat. Was he confused? Worried? At this point, she didn't care. It wasn't important. 

She had to promise herself that she wouldn't get close to the enemy. 


	19. Chapter 19

ᴰⁱˢˢᵉᶜᵗ ᵐʸ ⁱⁿˢᵉᶜᵘʳⁱᵗⁱᵉˢ   
ᴵ'ᵐ ᵃ ᵈᵉᶠᵉᶜᵗ ˢᵘʳᵍⁱᶜᵃˡ ᵖʳᵒʲᵉᶜᵗ  
ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵍᵉᵗᵗⁱⁿᵍ ʰᵃʳᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵗʰᵉ  
ᵀʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ᵖˡᵃˢᵗⁱᶜ ʷʳᵃᵖ ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᶜʰᵉᵉᵏˢ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

Remember when (Y/N) said that she wouldn't let the enemy get close to her? Yeah, I did too, but she was pretty sure that the universe had something against her for something for saying something like that. 

(Y/N) found herself counting down the hours till Winter would come back and feed her. Despite her wishes against her consciousness, she slowly became more comfortable with being hand-fed by her kidnapper. 

And then she couldn't help but thank him (mentally of course) when he began feeding Nico when he noticed the feline not getting fed regularly. It was soon a worry of hers that melted away. 

Today was different, though. (Y/N) would usually wake up to a warm room with a slight breeze from an open window she guessed. However, today, it was freezing. 

As she sighed, she could see her breath hover in front of her before it disappeared. If murder didn't kill her, she was freezing to death was going to do the trick and be a solution to her problems at the moment. 

Another thought ran through her head. Would the soldier even notice? He was built like a machine, so maybe he could survive like one. It didn't surprise her at all, anyway. Gunshots and stab wounds only got a grunt out of him, not seeming to faze him. If they did faze him, they didn't do their job too long to make any progress.

(Y/N) glanced down at Nico who slept near her right calf soundly. The cold weather didn't seem to bother the small animal one bit. The pink pads at the bottom of each paw Nico had turned blue. Did that always happen? she thought. 

Then, (Y/N) paid more attention to the spruce door when it opened with a squeak, showing the soldier who stood there with no emotion. Unlike the other days when he rushed over to her, today he hesitated in the doorway. 

He didn't have a plate of food for Nico or her like he usually did days before. No, today he held a gun in his flesh hand. It was a clear sign that he had been pissed off to some degree whether it was by her or something else. 

The usually silent yet heavy at the same time footsteps across the wooden floor was replaced with more harsher, louder footsteps. With each step, (Y/N) could hear the ticking of seconds of her last moments yelling in her ears.

But can you say didn't expect this, girl? He had to throw you away at some point. 

A lump began to form in the base of her throat as the soldier towered over her. Once again, those stone-cold ocean blue eyes stared at her with much more intensity than before. They were basically oozing with a want of dominance and obedience to come from (Y/N). 

When he raised his metal hand, (Y/N) flinched back instinctively, thinking that would be the exact moment she would die. What surprised her was when she spotted the silver keys in his hands. 

Her eyebrows were furrowed, but she focused her eyes on the wall in front of her. She didn't want to stare make into the Russian-made man's dead eyes. 

Both of them were silent as Winter worked on the chains. A relieved gasp left (Y/N)'s mouth when she heard the metal deterrents fall to the ground with a large thud. Immediately, her hands went to rub against her bruised and aching wrist. 

A grunt left both (Y/N) and Winter as he pulled her up from the bed by her arm, alerting and waking a sleeping Nico in the process. 

Soon, she felt the handgun pressed against the small of her back. The familiar lump had placed itself back in her throat. 

''If you trying anything, I'll make sure you can never walk again,'' the soldier threatened, but they both knew that it was an honest-to-God promise if she disobeyed. 

(Y/N) nodded. ''You got it, soldier,'' she responded, but it was some sort of reassurance to herself when she said it out loud. A hum came from the back of his throat as he took ahold of her shoulder and guided her out of the room. 

To be honest, she thought that they would be in one of those run-down hotel rooms where rats chewed down on the food in a dark corner of the room. It surprised her when she saw a nice hotel room with a clean, furnished and plain decorated aesthetically pleasing room. 

From the brief moment when she passed through the many rooms (it had to be a suite, but how did he afford that?) she spotted guns, sharpened knives, and grenades littered across some walls. 

To summarize it all, if she tried anything, she was done for. 

If she could do it anymore, it was look back on her thoughts and the new ones popping up. Where was he taking her? What could he possibly want from her? There weren't leaving. He would've packed up all of his things if they were doing that. She would never really know until they reached their destination. 

That was until he stepped in front of her and opened the door. Her face was hit with fresh, warm steam that made her sigh from the difference in temperatures. Her eyes were laid on the filled bathtub. 

It had been days since she'd last bathed and the smell was getting to her. Maybe be was getting tired of it too or finally came to the understanding of the human body and their needs?

''Strip.''

The voice had cut through her inner monologue like butter, but it was when the word he said finally registered was when her face drained color and stared at him with disbelief. 

''E-excuse me?'' she stuttered. Did he really think she would giving herself away like that? Self-restraint or not, hell no. 

''Strip, or do you prefer to wash with your clothes still on?" he snapped back at her, proving his point. 

(Y/N) huffed. ''Turn around, you ass,'' she told him. He stared back at her for a second, something familiar flashing through his eyes like a candle that was just put out before he followed her order. 

Thank you, (Y/N) told him even though he couldn't hear it as she removed the garments she was forced to wear on her way to this beautiful, but to her a prison, hotel room. 

She knew from the moment her body was submerged into the water was when he had turned around to stare her down, but she didn't really care at this point. She closed her eyes and recollected the few of her sane thoughts and in the warm water. However, she couldn't help but open an eye when she heard the door open.

''15 minutes,'' he said before leaving, closing the door behind him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (1) Mine

ᵂʰᵉⁿ ʰᵉ ᴰᵃᵈᵈʸ ᵗʳⁱᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵏⁱˡˡ ʰⁱᵐ  
ˢʰᵉ ˢᵃⁱᵈ, ᴰᵃᵈᵈʸ, ᵒʰ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵈᵃʳᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

(Y/N) wrapped a towel around herself as she poked her head out of the door of the bathroom. The soldier was nowhere in sight, had taken her clothes, leaving her bare under the towel she wore. 

After suppressing the urge to yell out to the soldier, she stepped out of the bathroom, a shiver running down her spine as the cold air hit her body. After getting into her warming bath, she almost forgot that they were snowed in. 

As she walked down the hall long, she cursed. She hadn't seen her clothes visible anywhere else in the hotel room. He must've thrown them away. 

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 , she heard her thoughts say loudly, making her giggle bit when the memory of the things she did years ago came to mind. 

Her stomach seemed to growl loudly at her as she repressed a groan. Finally, she wandered into the kitchen. Not having breakfast for the whole day was starting to take a toll on her. 

''God pray this man 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 eats,'' she muttered under her breath as she started parted the fridge's doors opened. What surprised her the most was when she was welcome with a freshly stocked fridge, nearly squealing at the sight of it all. 

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘴? she thought. Not that she had anything against the small pastries, but it was getting annoying when she had them every single day. 

Quickly, she grabbed the bacon and eggs that sat in the cooled fridge and looked around the cabinets for the pancake mix. Fortunately, she ended up finding it as she poured it into a bowl. 

𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦? (Y/N) pondered on her thoughts. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦? 

(Y/N) pushed aside her loud and obnoxious thoughts as she worked on the pale batter. They didn't matter for the most part, anyway. At least, not at the moment. 

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TOWN

A grunt escaped from the man as he was slammed onto the wall, hands clawing at the metal hand wrapped around this throat. Gurgle's left him as he struggled to speak. 

''I-I promise I won't tell you one about you!'' he pleased with wide eyes. The grip got tighter and he released a pained squeal. ''Or her! Or her!"' he begged loudly. 

Dead eyes stared back at him before he let out a deep huff. The man in his hands thought it was him giving him a pass to live, but instantly he knew he was wrong when a pistol was brought to her head. 

''Wait, no-'' he was silenced with a silent gunshot echoing out, ending the poor man's career. The body fell limp against the stone wall, a trail of blood from the back of his head following as he slid down. 

Another grunt left the soldier as he stared at his blood-stained metal arm and the dark alley filled with bruised and bloodied corpses. At this rate, the stench of pre-rotten flesh would expand and draw the attention of the townspeople. 

Of course, it didn't help with the snow, either. The bottom of his shoes was most likely bloody as well. It would leave an obvious trail to him. 

However, that would've been an issue if the soldier was a normal human being, he had been doing this for decades. If he didn't know how to get away from a murder scene, that would be disappointing on behalf of Hydra seeing as he was supposed to be a myth.

In that case, Winter walked further down the alleyway, soon coming out of hte other in where the Sun provided a small bit of warmth in contrast to the cold weather, but not enough to fully bring it to his attention. 

What did catch his attention was the store across the snow-kissed streets. There was clothes and winter gear in the window display. Not that he cared for such things anyway, but he knew that (Y/N) was regular human (at the moment) and survived on things that he didn't need regularly. 

So, in order to keep h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶ her alive, he entered the store, sure to cover his metal arm from the small society, but anyone could be a peeping tom. 

He quickly browsed around the clothing isles, somehow finding your size (don't ask how, he just knows) as well as some shoes before he headed to the front counter, dropping all of the items on top of it. 

The male cashier behind the counter stared at him in shock with wide eyes before quickly beginning to scan the items. Sweat even began to trickle down the young man's forehead under the assassin's intense gaze and by the time he was done, his hands were shaking. 

''€288. 93,'' he managed to stutter out. The soldier scoffed but placed €300 on the counter. He didn't care for his change. Instead, he grabbed the bagged clothes and shoes as he walked out of the store, the stoic expression still on his face. 

Suddenly, his mind went back on (Y/N). He had left her alone for almost 22 hours now. Unsupervised from him, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she escaped at this point, but it would be a bitch to track her down. 

Quickly, he shoved the bags into one of the cars he was using at the moment, getting in on the drivers' side and pressed on the gas, ready to speed down the road despite the snow and black ice.

When he arrived at the hotel, his eyes were glazed over which beat his usually plain expression. He was waiting for an attack to come out of nowhere. After searching the lobby, he rushed to the room. The door slammed shut behind him as he ran over to the bathroom where (Y/N) wasn't anywhere in sight. 

''Uh, soldier?" a melodic voice that belonged to the woman called from behind him. She flinched back at how quick he turned around to face her. 

Though he didn't show any emotions on his face, his eyes spoke clearly for him. He was panicked and relieved but confused at the same time as to why she hadn't tried to run away when given the chance to. 

On the other hand, (Y/N)'s felt her face getting warm as she remembered the fact that she was in nothing but a total. Though the assassin had no sexual desire for her, she felt exposed in his presence when he stared down at her. 

''Do you have any clothes? You seemed to take mine,'' (Y/N) resorted, her sassy attitude coming out to play as she crossed her arms. At this point, all she had to do was wrap her hair in a bun and she could look like one of those girls from the movies right before the murderer was going to go kill them.

The soldier have his signature grunt before handing her a bag of clothes. Of course, (Y/N) didn't approve much of the syle, but she could work with it. She didn't recognize the language on the clothing but didn't mean she would look over it. 

(Y/N) nodded as she finished looking through the bag, a neutral expression on her face. However, her eyes went comically wide when she saw the soldier still staring right back at her. 

None of them broke the silence of the eye-contest, though. It felt as if they were frozen in place, yet able to move with free will at the same time. The only thing that snapped them out of the trance was Nico meowing loudly from the other room. 

''Thanks, or whatever,'' she muttered, gesturing to the bag of the clothes, and turned to the direction of the room she was usually handcuffed in. She stopped when she was pulled into his chest, staring right back into his eyes. 

''Benim (1).''


	21. Chapter 21

ᴵ ᵃˡʷᵃʸˢ ᵗʰᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ᴵ ᵐⁱᵍʰᵗ ᵇᵉ ᵇᵃᵈ  
ᴺᵒʷ ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵘʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ᵗʳᵘᵉ  
'ᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᴵ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ˢᵒ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ  
ᴬⁿᵈ ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ʸᵒᵘ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

The soldier trudged his way into the hotel room, a blunt expression on his face. As he tugged off his jacket, blood from his hands dripped onto the wooden floor. (Y/n) winced. She would have to clean that up later. 

Over the past weeks, the scene was something she had gotten used to. The soldier would leave her for a few hours, 2 hours at most, only to come back covered in blood under his or with more clothes and food in hand. 

(Y/N) sat on the couch that was seated closest to the large window, sipping on a cup of tea while Nico sat on her lap, watching the soldier intently. 

He stared at her sharply before grunting, a noise that could mean anything to a person who wasn't familiar with him, but (Y/N) knew. He wanted her attention. 

She looked up at him with a raised brow. ''You're staining the floor,'' she pointed out, setting the warm liquid down on the next to her. ''You need to watch that. People in the lobby might notice.''

(Y/N) swore she saw him roll his eyes before he collapsed down on the couch across from her, eyes closed. With the way his eyebrows were furrowed, she couldn't tell if he was in a content mood or in discomfort.

''You need to get away from the window. Someone could see you,'' his rough voice outted into the quiet room. (Y/N) hummed. ''Say you,'' she told him.

At this point, she was seeing various flashes of discomfort run over his face as he adjusted where and how he sat. To test her theory, she stood up and walked over to him, giving him a once over before slapping his chest hard.

A grunt of pain escaped from him, and out of habit, he grabbed (Y/N)'s wrist. He held onto it firmly, but the look he gave her could kill. She shrugged her shoulders. It was a look she was used to by now. 

''Take your shirt off,'' she ordered him. He let go of her wrist out of surprise. Mainly because he was expecting her to lash out at him, but instead she said that. She sighed. ''I just want to help you. Please,'' she reassured. 

He gave another grunt to signal he was giving in and she flashed him a small smile. As he tugged off his black turtleneck, blood tricked down to his abs. (Y/N) took the warm fabric out of his hands and put it beside her. 

One large cut from a knife, she proposed, ran across his chest to his side. One of her hands ran over the wound while her finger from the hand fiddled with the bottom of her shorts. She made a tch sound as she grabbed an emergency kit from under the living room table. 

His hand caught her wrist once again as she raised a cloth right above the would. Another sigh escaped from her. ''I need to clean it before I stitch it up. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" she told him. Eventually, after a short staring contest, he let her wrist go.

(Y/N) would be lying if she said her eyes and hands didn't wander from time to time. Sometimes, the cloth would linger in areas longer than needed, but the soldier didn't seem to question it at all. But (Y/N) would also be lying if she said she was nervous. His eyes were trained on her intently as she worked. She lived whenever he winced. It was the only time his eyes left her. 

"This may hurt a bit. Find something to grab onto if you need it,'' (Y/N) told him, sharing a look with him as she discarded the bloody cloth. Though she knew he was used to pain and could handle it (to a great extent), she addressed to anyway. 

As she began, she noticed he didn't need something to steady himself. Almost halfway through, a cold hand met her bare thigh, squeezing tightly. She was about to push him off, but she stopped we she saw the discomfort on his face.

She looked back at his chest. Out of curiosity, she ran her fingers over the soft skin. She could feel the faintest shiver come from him as a shaky sigh escaped from him. A smirk fell on (Y/N)'s features. He was sensitive. 

Continuing to work, she made sure she went slower this time, extending the time she had to work on him. The soldier seemed to squeeze her thigh more, but (Y/N) ignored it. If it was helping him, she would leave him be.

''I'm done,'' she told him, putting al the unused and reusable items back into the kit. ''Make sure you clean it. If you loosen them, just get me, 'kay?" she said. As she went to get up, the grip on her thigh got tighter, forcing her back into her previous position in between his legs.

He brought one of her hands up to his cheek, dismissing the way (Y/N)'s eyes widened. "What are you doing?" she asked, feeling her face get warm as she nuzzled into her hand slightly. 

The soldier's eyes stared into (Y/n)'s (E/C) eyes after a while. Unlike his empty blue orbs you couldn't find any emotion in weeks ago, there was a small spark of emotion in them this time. There was an uncharacteristic softness in them that made (Y/N) wnt to wrap him a hug and hold him all day long. 

''What's wrong, soldier?" she asked softly, almost as if she didn't want to upset him if her tone was anything different. Subconsciously, she ran her thumb over his cheek. This was unlike her, but she didn't care.

''T-that's not my name,'' he said, well, more like stuttered. A look of surprise took over (Y/N)'s face. She never imagined the Winter Soldier to ever stutter in his whole lifetime. Well, only the wasn't the soldier. This was someone else. ''Bucky?" she questions. A look of distaste ran over his features at the name as he shook his head. 

''N-no. My name is James."


	22. Chapter 22

ˢᵗᵉᵖ ᵒⁿᵉ  
ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵘˢᵗ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ⁱ'ᵐ ᵃ ˡⁱᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵐʸ ᵐⁱⁿᵈ  
ˢᵗᵉᵖ ᵗʷᵒ  
ᵀʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵃ ʷᵃˢᵗᵉ ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ʷᵃˡᵏ ᵐᵉ ᵈᵒʷⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠⁱⁿⁱˢʰ ˡⁱⁿᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

The snow hit the window at a faster rate than before, the wind picking up to help the white rain fall. Though it had a soothing effect, the light and heavy thumps annoyed (Y/N) to no end. 

Homesickness was finally getting to her, though she wouldn't at all call it all homesickness. She could never stay put in an area so a physical place was without a doubt out of option, but it had to be more like the people there. All of it would cause exact problems like this. 

During the time she had spent in the hotel room, (Y/N) had learned one very important thing. For starters, the body of James Buchanan Barnes shared two minds. 

The 'Soldier', which she referred to as such or 'Winter, was the cold and emotionless side of the mind. However, he showed and he had his moments where he would blink of out the phase. He claimed very possessive over (Y/n) and was clearly the part of the mind that would kill without any hesitation. 

The other part of the mind was of course James. Not Buck, not Bucky. Just James. A victim of Hydra who suffered for 70 years, barely remembering anything from the days we considered himself a whole of a man. No, now he's only a shell who's been through things worst than words can describe. 

(Y/N) sighed. Despite her observation, they would do nothing good for her at the moment. Besides, James was hardly a persona displayed, simply watching limply, voided, as the soldier took control. 

The TV was on, but the volume was turned low so only she colors shined off of (Y/N)'s (S/C), dull eyes shining with the same bright tinges. A thick cover was pulled over her frame as her face nuzzling into the pillow, wishing sleep would consume her by now. 

As always, just as she was getting comfortable, the door opened. A grunt came from the soldier, almost asking out into the silent room where she was and if she was alive to which (Y/N) made no attempt to tell him where her location was.

Instead, he had to figure out himself. His footsteps were now louder and more evident to were he pinpointed himself, an incongruity to his light as a feather footsteps that he used around the suite and when he went anywhere else. 

A content noise came from the back of his throat as he saw her laying down on the couch. She propped her head on the armrest of the couch. His gloved-flesh hand rested on her head, rubbing her scalp a bit before he walked off.

Forcing her eyes open, she saw the soldier carrying someone tossed over his shoulder. That woke (Y/N) right up. ''Who is that?'' she asked. The soldier grunted, only lower this time, telling her that he wouldn't tell her exactly who it was.

''Come,'' he rasped. Like a lost puppy, (Y/N) followed behind him. Sadly, the man had a bag over his head so she couldn't see who it was at his angle either. 

Winter put them in the farthest room in the whole master suite. ''It's soundproof,'' he said aloud. Usually, it would be used for... other situations, but not this one. (Y/N) wasn't sure if he was directing that to her or the man.

Maybe the both of them. 

The words must've meant something to the captured man because he started thrashing around in the Winter's hold abruptly. Annoyed, the soldier slapped the side of his head before tieing him down to a chair. 

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, lean against one of the walls in the room. She already knew what was going to do down, but she didn't even bother trying to avoid the fact. She would either hear it or see it eventually. 

Closing her eyes, she welcomed the darkness, trying to see if she could find any residue of drowsiness in her system, unfortunately finding none to latch onto. The man's muffled screaming was enough for them to open once more. 

''I-I don't know anything!'' he stuttered off after the bag over his head was removed, as well as the gag he had in his mouth. ''Just let me go and we can just call this a bad day. A nightmare that will be long forgotten with the wind.''

But that's where the man's mistake came into play. Winter had eyes and ears everywhere where no one else could see. As long as he acted obediently, they walked over him like a bug in the dirt, not bothering to hide their whispers of knowledge. When he snapped, they were suddenly clueless. 

Winter grunted, grabbing a knife that was strapped to his thigh. Though the scene that would happen in a few seconds would be revolting and disturbing to others, (Y/N) watched in genuine interest as his movements. 

Okay, so she's a little weird. So what? 

A scream echoed out in the room as a knife was etched deeply into the man's thigh. ''Fuck!" he cursed loudly, brows furrowed as she threw his head back in pain. 

''I'll ask you again. Who's in charge?" Winter snarled, twisting the knife. (Y/N) yawned quietly. This was getting boring to her real quick, and it hadn't really even began. Maybe it was just because she was tired? She shared a look with the assassin for a quick second before she pushed up against the wall, heading for the door. 

''You!'' the man howled out towards the female. Stopping in her tracked, she turned back to the two of them, looking back at the man weirdly. ''Aren't you going to help me? You're free in this place, aren't you?" 

That made (Y/N) stop and think. Yeah, she had free roam around the place, but she was glad just for the freedom alone. Yeah, she could leave, and would the soldier even notice? Winter made another low, dark noise, bringing her eyes to his. 

They were the same impassive eyes staring back into hers, and for some reason, it made her remember why she was staying for the first place. To get out, yeah.

But she needed to help him.

Did (Y/N) know why? No, but it was a gut instinct she felt that she couldn't and shouldn't ignore. Maybe it was because of the glimpsed of humanity she saw. Or maybe it was because she felt pity for the somewhat sane parts of him. She would never know completely. 

The woman shrugged her shoulders, hiding her thoughts from him, She saw as the man's eyes widened in distaste at her answer, spurring out more curses. Blood dripped down from his forehead as his eyes suddenly darkened, a smirk appearing on his face. 

''Oh, I get it now,'' he goaded. The man looked over to Winter. ''This is your little slut, isn't it? Can't say you haven't trained her well. Ты тренируешь ее так же, как мы (1)?'' he spat. The tired, almost bland look on (Y/N)'s face turned into anger, as well as Winter's as they stared back at the Hydra agent. 

Before the assassin could do anything, a booted foot came in contact the man tied up's with his head, not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough for him to feel the pain of a concussion doubled. (Y/N) yanked him up by his hair so that he was looking straight into her eyes.

''I belong to no one asshat. You should learn to watch your mouth when someone is deciding whether you live or die,'' she said in a remotely calm tone. 

(Y/N) turned back to the door, suddenly stopping in the doorway as she looked over her shoulder, then Winter who's eyes were trained on her. Could that be a hint of adoration in them?

''When you're done, kill him won't you?"

It sounded like a question coming out of her mouth, but Winter knew it was more like an order, one he had to carry out. He was going to do it anyway, but when she told him to do it, it spurred him on more to carry it out. 

The man tied to the chair's eyes widened, almost as if he didn't believe that she would suggest such a thing. Winter gave her a curt nod before she left the room, closing the spruce door behind her.

Winter grabbed a larger knife that was attached to the slightly padded walls, dead eyes accompanied by with some insanity. A small, almost unnoticeable, grin grew on his face. 

''Well, you heard the lady, didn't you?'

☆☆☆

The door to the soundproof room opened and closed, the scent of death lingering on the soldier as she surveyed the dark room beside the light that was let in by the window, TV, and under the door that led to the kitchenette.

Quietly, he walked over to the area, opening the white door and immediately spotting the (H/C)-haired woman sitting there, her feline and cup of tea stationed near her.

''What are you going to the body?" she asked, almost as if it was a daily thing. She brought the steaming tea to her lips. A grunt came from her from the satisfying burn. ''Burn it in one of those dark alleyways?" Winter grunted before nodding. 

(Y/N) stared back at him. For some reason, he felt.... different as she stared back into her eyes. Cold, (E/C) orbs that were alike to his. Some part of him didn't like it. She seemed...

like him.

''You're covered in blood,'' she told him, grabbing a cloth a wiped his cheek. The deep crimson liquid staining the once white fabric.

They locked eyes met again. It seemed as if they were doing that a lot lately. Winter opened his mouth to speak just as she retracted her hand, reaching for her teacup instead. A look of confusion was evident on his face. 

''Why haven't you left?"

A question incised in both of their heads, only in his, it floated around, causing more madness that wasn't needed. He watched as (Y/N) froze, the tea never getting high enough to reach her lips and drown in her throat.

''I-'' she stopped herself from speaking, eyebrows furrowing suddenly. Nico's head shot up at the same time, eyes staring at the large window on the other side of the room. ''There's something wro-''

Her words cut off before they could even finish. Shots rang out, cutting through the glass, making the hard material to fall inward. With slightly wide eyes, Winter grabbed (Y/N) and Nico, pulling them to his chest as agents from the malicous organization pilled into the room. 

''Shit,'' they said at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Are you training her the same way we trained you?


	23. Chapter 23

ᵗʰᵃᵗ ⁿⁱᵍᵍᵃ ᵖᵘˡˡ ᵘᵖ, ʰᵉ ᵗʰᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ʷᵉ ᵍᵒⁿ' ᶠⁱˢᵗᶠⁱᵍʰᵗ  
ˡⁱˡ' ᵈⁱᵈ ʰᵉ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ⁱ ᵏᵉᵉᵖ ⁱᵗ ˢᵗʳᵃᵖ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵃ ᵈⁱᶻᶻⁱᵏᵉ 

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

The bullets rain down after the large window shattered, the roar of the guns raining down hellfire canceling out the silent hum in the atmosphere before it was cut off. 

The bullets paused for a second. ''We know you're in there, soldier! With your girl-toy, too!'' a voice rang out over the silence. After he spoke, the slugs continued to go off. (Y/N) drew in a breath.

''What are we going to do?" (Y/N) asked even though she knew the answer. Hell, there was no other option but to fight fire with fire. Winter grunted before looking at one of the walls in the kitchen, a few guns lying again them.

Swiftly, he grabbed two of them, handing one of the AKs to (Y/N) who grinned at the gun in delight. Before she could go attach a silencer and grab more magazines, he grabbed ahold of her wrist. 

''Don't try to run away. Don't die,'' he warned her before releasing her. She nodded. The woman looked down at Nico, bending down to rub in between his ears. ''Stay close, okay?" she said. 

The footsteps outside of the room from the agents who had already entered the hotel suite got louder, signaling that they were actively searching for the pair. They shouted profanities at them, as well as orders for them to come out.

The two of them shared a look before rushing out of the room in a soundless manner, guns ready to kill. 

The suite they were in (before they were rudely interrupted) was fairly large, corners almost everywhere after you came in from the door, or in their case, the window. The only chance of surviving this was to do it as silent as possible, even if they had guns. 

It was easy to kill the first agents they came across, choking them out or ending them with a knife she managed to pickpocket off of one of them. 

After a while, Winter in the opposite direction after making sure she could handle herself for the moment being. Nico followed behind her, which went unnoticed by others when he lagged behind. 

Most of the agents were spread out, close enough to yell out to each other, but far enough so they could kill them without another one knowing. 

''Go and distract that one over there, boy,'' she whispered to Nico who stood by her leg. The cat sauntered over to the agent who was coming down the hall silently, barely visible in the dark hallway. 

The soldier flinched when Nico meowed, shining the light on the end of its gun on the jet black tabby cat. The cat's eyes looked unnatural under the artificial light, a dark hue of green. A sigh came from them, cooing at and bending down to pet Nico who rubbed against their leg. 

Another pair of footsteps came from the hallway, seemingly annoyed. ''Johnson! Get your ass up and find the female!'' the barked. A scoff came from the man named Johnson, petting Nico one more time before standing up. ''Whatever,'' he mumbled.

Looking around the corner, (Y/N) saw the back of both of the agent's heads, continuing down the almost pitch-black hall. (Y/N) smirked as she lined the shot up. 

A whistle came from the woman, loud enough for only the man closer for her to hear. He looked back at her with wide eyes, but before he could do anything, a bullet was in between his eyes. Nico whined loudly when his body almost smushed him, glaring at (Y/N).

''Sorry,'' she cooed. The other man looked back at the sound of the loud thump, only his gun was ready when he looked back at her. At the same time, he did that, she fired off her next shot. 

(Y/N) heard Nico whine loudly at her, but stopped when she put Nico on her shoulder. ''Good boy,'' she said. More footsteps were heard from behind her, but what mattered most was leaving the hotel. 

Glass continued to break even from behind her, and even though the walls, she would hear the screams from the streets and the floor of the hotel they were one. 

''Don't let her get away!'' some yelled out. Quickly, she ran down the hall, landing into a room where she slammed the door behind her, not bothering to lock it. The large glass window in front of her (how many were there?) caught her attention. 

She rushed over to it, looking down at Nico. ''I'm going to need you to hold onto to me tightly okay, Nico?" she said as she used the end of her gun to break the glass. Something black and silver moved out of the corner of her eye, but she ignored it. ''Let's hope we survive this,'' she said. 

Nico tilted his head, almost to say, ''Are you fucking crazy?" Before anything else was done, agents burst into the room, guns aimed at (Y/N) who stood at the edge of the windowsill.

''Don't move. Get your ass over here!'' they yelled. (Y/N) smiled and brought Nico to her chest. ''It was the wind!" she yelled.

And jumped off. 

☆☆☆

The soldier grunted as he slammed another Hydra agent into the tan walls, well, what used to be tan walls. Crimson splashed cover the once plain color. 

''You'll never be free,'' an agent gasped as they laid on the floor, not even on the verge of death. Winter glared before stomping on their face, blood sticking to the bottom of his boots. 

More and more agents flooded the hallways that led to him, some more hesitant than others to shoot him when they saw him. Winter's eyes were filled with a mixture of annoyance and anger as he fired off the gun in his hands, not bothering to look back as agents flattened on the ground. 

Being blessed with enhanced hearing, he could hear what was going on outside and almost on the other side of the suite. More agents. That meant more problems. 

Irked greatly, he slammed his metal arm through the window, it effortlessly falling out on the other side into the snow. Jumping out of the now non-existent window, he landed on a black SUV. Even from the height he was at, he could see more cars belonging to Hydra moving in. 

The locals in the area screams filled the air, children running around with their parents in different directions to get away from the bellowing caused by the bullets. 

Just as living bodies ran around, it was the same way as bodies dressed in black or navy blue with red octopi sewn to the arms dropped to the ground. 

Bullet shells and a few police cars on fire now littered the once calm roads, accompanied by screams of agony and corpses. Suddenly, the sound of a window breaking and (Y/N)'s voice reached his ears. 

''I'm going to need you to hold onto me tightly, okay Nico?'' she said to her cat. At her words, Winter ran over to her, shooting at anyone who got in his way. He ran even faster at the sound of agents bursting into the room. 

The other words didn't register in the assassin's heard as (Y/N) jumped out of the room, eyes screwed tight as she held onto Nico. The agents looked out of the window in awe, not yet having seen the soldier. 

A louder grunt (which sounded more like an oof sound if we were being honest) came from him as (Y/N) landed in his arms, his metal arm having a firm and tight, but not harmful grip on her. 

The sound of the familiar noise and her landing on something (surprisingly soft) made (Y/N) open her eyes. Winter was looking down at her with an... angry expression on his face? The woman's eyes widened before shooting an agent who was sneaking up on the pair. 

''What?" she asked, reloading the gun in her hands. There was a little bit of blood that was running down her cheek that was more definitely hers. His glared hardened as his hold on her slightly tightened. 

''Didn't I tell you to stay alive?"

☆☆☆

''I swear to the gods themselves, I don't care who you are, if there's a scratch on my Baby, I'm going to stab you,'' (Y/N) hissed as she drove down the road at full speed. She didn't know where they were, but all she knew was that they needed to get out of the country. 

Winter sat in the passenger's seat, the window all the way down as he fired off shots here and there at the Hydra car. When he ran out of bullets in his AK, he cursed, throwing it down on the ground. (Y/N) reaching the glove box, handing him a pistol. He thanked her quickly before going back to them. 

''As if you won't do that with your driving,'' he said, rolling his eyes. Another shot was fired off, breaking the back window of the car. It went silent as he turned back to (Y/N) if she was actually going to stab him. 

Instead, her eyes darkened. ''Sit back,'' she said. Listening to her, he watched as she took a swift left turn, pleased go see Hydra's armored truck smash into a large oak tree. He shot at the engine a few times, causing it to soon burst into flames, engulfing the car in the fire.

''You owe me a new window,'' (Y/N) jeered, but stared at the ignited truck as the Impala came to a stop, the adrenaline high she was on lowering. The both of them out of the black car, going over to the truck to kill off any survivors that remained. 

''We need to find somewhere to go. The snow will get heavier,'' Winter grunted out. At a few moments of silence, he looked over to (Y/N) after not hearing a witty response come from her. 

His eyes went wide, seeing her holding hold on her hands to her bleeding abdomen, the other covering her mouth. A pained laugh came from her. 

''You told me to stay alive, right? Sorry...'' she said she was fell back, the world around her going dark. 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some Winter Soldier-Reader fluff for this chapter :)

Stress wasn't something that the soldier was used to, but it would be said that it was causing his anxiety to soar through the roof.

Fear probably had something to play into it, too. When he saw (Y/N) fall backward, it sparked the said emotion that he had never felt before. He was sure he didn't like the way it felt, either. 

It felt dangerous.

All his life, that was the world and felling he got out of things. Whether it actually being in danger or near danger. Fear felt like an emotion that could mix in with any emotion known to him without a problem and he didn't want that. 

A small groan snapped him back to reality in the present hour. Looking slightly upward, he saw (Y/N). Her eyes were just opening and when he got a good look at them, they were glazed over with pain and sleep as she struggled to stay awake. 

''I'm almost done,'' he said lowly and calming, almost like talking to a deer you find wandering around in the forest and you want it to stay with you. She'd fainted before and he took that time to get the bullet out of her. Now he was stitching her up. (Y/N) winced, almost flinching away when the cold needle registered against her skin. 

Her glassy eyes darted around the room back and forth, but she could probably make out be so much. A few small noises and whimpers of pain came from her before her fingers found their way into his dark brown hair, pulling lightly before she spoke. 

''Where are we?'' she asked. When the question came out of her mouth, she said it so low that the soldier hardly recognized her. He looked up at her to make sure she was okay before looking back down to the stitches. 

''A small cabin a few miles out of Albania,'' he told her honestly. He found no point lying to her when she would hardly remember their conversation after she went back to sleep. Winter ordered (Y/N) to sit up slightly so he could wrap her torso in bandages. 

(Y/N) obliged, only a small whine coming out of her mouth as she did so. Her dazed eyes watched his swift and gentle movements, taking in as much as she could with her hazed mind before they soon slipped away from memory.

When Winter finished, he carefully pulled her off of the couch, not wanting to disturb or undo the stitches, nor cause much pain for (Y/N).

A small 𝘰𝘩 came from her as she rested her head against his chest. It was followed by a small giggle and a dopey smile graced of her face. 

''I'm alive, right?'' she asked randomly, ''because your heartbeat sounds really alive right now,'' she yawned. Winter concluded that she probably the same way drunk, and if she wasn't, she was the opposite. 

''You're alive, I'm sure of that,'' he told her, carrying her all the way to the bedroom. He made sure to push the blankets aside for her before placing her on the mattress, pulling the covers over her as he did so.

Before he could turn around and leave, a lazy hand with a slightly firm grip wrapped itself around his wrist. Looking back, (Y/N)'s half-lidded eyes met his, the dopey smile still on her face.

''Stay with me, please?" the woman begged tiredly. Despite her clouded consciousness, it didn't hesitate to say what it wanted. Grunting, he got into the bed next to her, slightly pulling the blankets over himself though he didn't need it.

As soon as he did so, (Y/N)'s arms wrapped themselves around his stores, head resting on his upper chest so that she could nuzzle into his neck if she wanted to.

''Thank you, soldier,'' she mumbled, finding herself drifting off before she could get a reply. It seemed to be easy as she laid down next to him. 

When her breath evened out, indicating that she was asleep, he brought his flesh hand (that was surprisingly not gloved) to the side of her head, running his fingers through her hair, The warmth that she radiated lured him into a high and soothing stun. The smallest sigh came from him.

A small nap wouldn't hurt both of them at all, anyway. 

☆☆☆

It was the sun that shined brightly even through the blinds that woke her up in the first place. From the unwanted light, a small whine came from the back of her throat.

(Y/N) was fully aware of the stitches she had, as well as the bandages. Carefully, she sat up and made her way out of the slightly large bed. 

Though she didn't know where she was at all, she knew Winter had probably taken her here. He was the last memory that came to mind from hours before, anyway.

Her eyes and curious mind didn't decide to wander around the place this time. Instead, she used her nose while her feet dragged her to the kitchen where a sandwich and tea sat there. 

She leant against the counter to eat her sandwich in silence as she looked out of the window. Had she slept for the whole day or was it already mid-day?

A yelp and jump came from her as arms wrapped around her, slipping under the large shirt she was wearing to feel around her torso and carefully check her stitched. 

Tensed muscles relaxed when she realized who it was, the cold burn from Winter's metal arm touching against her bare flesh. There was no need to be alerted at the moment. He would protect her anyway, having much more need to while she was in this state. A weight rested on her shoulder as she set down her tea. 

''Soldier?" she asked, almost about to turn away before he hummed lowly. ''Are you okay?" she questioned and she heard another grunt. 

Suddenly, she was turned around to face him. His eyes ran over her, checking for any bruises on her face and ingrained each of her features into memory almost as if he didn't he wouldn't remember her at all. His eyes met hers, burning with worry and something tender.

''You're alive. That's all I ask of you to keep doing.''


	25. Chapter 25

ᴬⁿᵈ ᵃˢ ᴵ ˡᵃⁱᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ʰᵉˡᵖˡᵉˢˢˡʸ  
ᴬ ᵐⁱˡˡⁱᵒⁿ ᵈⁱᶠᶠᵉʳᵉⁿᵗ ᵗʰᵒᵘᵍʰᵗˢ ᶜᵃᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

JANUARY

''Stop whining.''

''I'm not whining.''

''Yes, you are.''

''No, I'm not.''

(Y/N) crossed her arms she leaned against the wall, a frown of her face as she did so. ''You're just power-hungry,'' she told him. 

Winter rolled his eyes. ''You're acting like a child,'' he told her, walking over to place a hand on her head. ''I can do this myself,'' he tried to tell her. 

The woman sighed. ''At least let me treat your wounds,'' she ordered, the familiar tone not one to play with, he learned. Winter grunted in annoyance but went to take a seat anyway. 

(Y/N) went to grab the first aid kit while Winter took off the dark shirt he was wearing. Though the wound wasn't deep enough for stitches, she didn't hesitate to treat him anyway.

As she began to work, he tossed his head back, looking around the hotel room they were in. They'd move out of Albania and back up Serbia. The anxiousness of heading to Romania again was present in both of them. 

''Who'd you manage to get into a fight with this time?" she asked, cooing softly when she'd pour the rubbing alcohol over to wound to clean it. He brushed it off.

''A few Hydra agents outside a bar. Nothing I couldn't handle,'' he grunted. (Y/N) nodded, knowing that as long as he didn't say anything else, she wouldn't get anything else. 

''What's the plan for today?" she asked, making sure the bandage was on good enough before their eyes met. Hers were basically pleading with him. ''Can I go into town?" she asked hesitantly. 

Winter was expecting it that day, and there it was. Ever since she'd gotten shot, he'd been more protective over her. Not wanting to go through another near-death experience, it'd become only one of his priorities to shield her from harm. 

''No,'' he finalizes, the word (Y/N) had become oh so familiar with made her frown. ''It's too dangerous,'' he said to her. The woman scoffed. ''Didn't I beat your ass once?"

A brief, unnoticeable smile ran across his face. ''It won't happen again,'' he assured her, trying to take her mind off of the fact that she couldn't go into town. 

It didn't work. 

''But will it kill you to let me go outside?" she asked. ''We're fine for the most part a no one suspects a thing,'' she pleaded. ''Pretty please? With kitty eyes?" she asked with a pout, holding Nico in his face.

The soldier glared at her, though a trick of sweat ran down the side of his face when he tried to challenge her a̶d̶o̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ stare. 

''No.''

☆☆☆

''I told you I could do it, Nico!'' (Y/N) said to the black feline she was holding in her hands before putting him on her shoulders. ''No one, even a scary assassin, can resist us!''

Winter rolled his eyes at her words, but deep down, he appreciated her words. Unlike the first weeks when she was with him, she didn't care that he was the Winter Soldier anymore, though he was still wary of her if she was to try anything. So far, it seemed she had no plan to. 

Though, they both had their moments. Sometimes he would lash out and break something or herself, demanding to go home, but both of them knew she didn't have a home to go back to.

Not a physical one at least. 

''Let's go over there,'' (Y/N) said, pulling him in the direction of a large street market. People crowded the area, more focused on themselves than the wanted pair. 

He willingly let the woman drag him around, though his eyes scanned around for any danger for her well-being. A smile was painted across her lips as she switched between talking to him and her cat so for now, she was fine. 

They stopped near the fruit section and (Y/N) pulled him close to show him the plums she was looking at, commenting that you had to pick the right ones if you wanted a sweet or sour one.

''These are plums,'' she said. ''They can help you with your memory. We should get some,'' she said, yet he knew what she meant. Nodding, he turned to the clerk and them cash, not caring if it was above what they had to pay. 

They got 10, and (Y/N) reached inside the thin plastic bag to hand him one. ''It'll help. Eat,'' she told him when he looked at it strangely. It felt way too smooth to be edible. 

(Y/N) wanted to help him. The only thing he could remember far when it came to good memories was the man on the bridge, who's name was Steve, and (Y/N) herself. At times, he only got fragments of memory that would either not make much sense to him or go by quickly. 

Both of them snacked on the purple fruits, walking though the crows and buying more food for back at the hotel.

''Stay close,'' he told her.

↟  
☆↞↠☆  
↡

The sun was beginning to set as the streets became a little less crowded, but active nonetheless. Winter, (Y/N), and Nico sat on a bench that was connected to the streets, behind them a large lake gave the perfect view of the sunset. 

''Have you ever thought of it?" (Y/N) asked, looking as adults and children walked by, some going into their apartments or houses, others continuing to walk to streets. Winter grunted, telling her to go on. 

''Having a permanent home to go back to,'' he said, tugging at the end of her black skirt. ''I've never stayed in a place for more than 4 months, It's been no different here with you,'' she said, looking over to see him staring back at her. 

''I can't say I could. I don't know if I'll ever be free. I never have been,'' he told her honestly. As long are those words were ingrained in his mind, there was no way he could be free; he couldn't be his own person. 

''You'll be free,'' she assured him. ''It may take a while, maybe a few years, but you'll be free,'' she promised, flashing him a soft smile. 

They were silent for a while, besides the chatter in the streets and Nico's purring. Only sitting there as the mass of people moved, all on their own routes to finish their own quest whether it be a simple or challenging one. That was the goal everyone had, right?

To mean something to someone. 

''I'll be right back,'' she said standing up, resting a whining Nico on his lap who soon got comfortable again. She must've caught Winter's worried look hidden in his eyes as she flashes him a smile. ''I'll be fine.''

He nodded, but his eyes still followed her. Not just as a sense of protectiveness over her, but something more he couldn't quite place yet. It seemed to be a load of things it could be. 

She was different, that's for sure. She was changing him and though he didn't know himself very well personality-wise, he could tell. Remembering most of his time with Hydra, he'd never felt this calm. The need to be so alert wasn't so high when he was with her. 

Another thing was that she actually cared about him, different than the way Hydra 'cared'. If she was angry, she'd try to refrain from yelling at him, though he was used to it which always made eyebrow furrow. Or the way she'd make him eat and drink or a regular basis, though she knew that he could survive a long time without it. 

He'd often question it, coming up to her during random hours of the day. Even though she might've been tired of it, she always replied to same way.

'''𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘵? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?" 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧, ''𝘕𝘰, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.''

(Y/N) didn't seem to expect an answer either, just smiling softly before going back to cooking. She didn't get one and didn't seemed bothered. No, she just watched in amusement at his baffled look, that over time, was accompanied by a light blush. Other times, she just came up to him and say, ''I care.''

(Y/N) knew he cared about her.

It wasn't something she needed to hear much, but rather something she felt like she needed to say to others. It showed when he'd taken care of her when she'd got shot or the protectiveness he got (and still had) even after. 

Suddenly, he stood up. The feeling of something going wrong washed over him and he knew the only thing it could be. 

(Y/N).

''Follow,'' he said to her feline companion who followed obediently. Winter had gone in the same direction he'd seen (Y/N) go in, footsteps quick and silent just in case. 

Grunts and protests were heard around the corner that lead into a dimly lit alleyway. ''I said get off!'' (Y/N) could be heard yelling, sending Nico into a frenzy and ran to her. 

Winter followed, on the way finding the pocket knife he had given her on the ground, a bit of blood splattered on the end of it. He didn't hesitate to get his gun out, silencer already attached if someone came along. 

''Ain't she a pretty thing?" one man's voice most likely said to another only having to hear a chuckle. ''Great toy,'' another said, who probably didn't have the best English.

He turned to corner, a stoic expression on his face as two larger men towered over and held (Y/N) place, one of them caressing her cheek with a knife, cheek already bleeding, as the other beginning to move up her skirt, causing her the squirm. 

''It'll be fun I promise,'' the first man said, ready to make another move but not able to as bullets went through his skull twice, dropping him to the ground.

The other man turned around to go attack the assassin letting (Y/N) go mistakenly. She kicked in the side of the head, dropping her to the ground but conscious nonetheless. She grabbed her knife, not listening to the man's pleads as she stabbed him in the chest. 

But she didn't stop. 

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she continued. Nico rubbed at her leg to try and stop her, scratching, but she kept going, not caring about the blood that stained her shirt. 

''(Y/N),'' Winter called out, trying to knock her back to her senses. "(Y/N),'' he said again, inching to her slowly. She couldn't hear him. All she could see was red and-

''(Y/N), I said stop.''

That made her freeze midway before the knife in her hands punctured the dead man again. Her eyes darted between the blood on her hands and the man in front of her. She should've been throwing up, but the shock and horror running through her views stopped her from doing so. 

She pushed herself away from the body. She looked at Winter with eyes before back to the bodies. Those were civilians. They weren't Hydra or terrorists. They were just men.

''Don't feel sorry for them,'' he said, stepping over the bodies and walking over to her. ''They deserved it."

Winter's expression didn't change, but his pupils were blown wide with anger. This is exactly what he didn't to happen. Instinctively, she wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against his chest. The ocean blue orbs softened as he looked down at her. 

''T-They were going-,'' ''I know, I know,'' he silences her, rubbing soft circles on her arm, his grip tightening when he saw bruises forming on her thighs. His darkened.

''They should've known not to mess with something of mine.''


	26. Chapter 26

ᴴᵃⁿᵈˢᵒᵐᵉ, ᵇᵒʸ, ᵈᵒᵉˢ ʰᵉ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ⁱᵗ!   
ᴾᵉᵃᶜʰ ᶠᵘᶻᶻ, ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᵍʳᵒʷ!  
ᴵ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ʰⁱᵐ ᶠᵃʳ ᵃʷᵃʸ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

Winter nudged (Y/N) softly, something inside of him feeling slightly guilty for waking up when it seemed like she needed more of it. 

The woman groaned lowly as she buried her face more into her pillow. ''Five for minutes,'' she mumbled, lazily pulling her covers over her head. 

A deep chuckle came from the assassin at her antics before slightly pulling the comforters slightly off of her body causing for (Y/N) to whine at the loss of the warmth it provided. 

''You're evil. I should kick you in your throat,'' she tirelessly threatened as she brought her knees to her chest, a usual uncomfortable position now that she's in the opposite when she's not fully conscious.

''Is that a threat, princess?" his voice came out, low and authoritative, but with an underlay of playfulness as well. 

Opening an eye, (Y/N)'s (E/C) orb looked into the ocean blues staring back at her, possessiveness mixing in with something the relish.

Another groan came from her, but this time she sat up, stretching as her bones cracked.

An angered huff came from Winter as he eyed the bruised when her shorts and tank tops had hidden up. His metal hand rested above them, the sudden cold eliciting as a shiver came from (Y/N). 

She seemed to understand what he was thinking just from his actions alone. When he did so, she flashed him a soft smile, the woman putting her hands on his. 

"I'm fine,'' she assured him, looking down at his metal arm to run her fingers through the inward grooves they contained. ''They can't hurt me anymore.''

Winter hummed, leaning so that his head was in the crook of her neck, inhaling slowly. She smelt like roses and smoke, both dangerous and beautiful from afar.

''Mine,'' he grunted, picking her up and moving them both onto a chair in the room. A small oof came from (Y/N) as he sat her on his lap. 

''You're clingy in the morning,'' she mumbled, not that used to seeing the man so out of character, though it didn't bother her much. 

A sigh left his lips as she began to run her fingers through his dark brown locks, grunting lowly when she detangled knots. With his face nuzzled into her neck more, warm air hit her when she exhaled. 

''Sweet,'' he mumbled. ''All mine. Mine,'' he grunted, fingers slightly digging his fingers into her hips. ''Forever,'' he mumbled, focusing on the way her heart beat faster. 

He probably didn't know how intimate how his words and actions seemed to be. It made her squirm slightly in her grasp. 

''You're possessive, too,'' she stated, even though it was obvious of his constant behavior. ''What's up with you today?" she asked. Another grunt came from him as his fingers dug more into her hips, but not to the point where it was hurting. 

Her fingers began to dig themselves into her shoulder's lightly when he began to place soft kisses on her neck. Her flustered state stopped when he began moving his hands to her stomach. 

"Stop it!'' she laughed. ''I'm ticklish,'' she managed to get out before erupting into more giggles. More escaped her as he began to tickle her, holding her in place while she squirmed more. 

The assassin snorted at her reaction. ''Rebecca would've loved you,'' he mumbled, pressing another kiss on her neck. 

As (Y/N)'s giggles continued to evaporate, her face turned into one of confusion. ''Who's Rebecca?" she asked, continuing to run her fingers through his hair. 

''My sister, I think,'' he said quietly with furrowed brows. ''We were separated when our parents died. Stupid boarding school,'' he mumbled. 

Winter's grip on her loosened. ''I remember you from somewhere, (Y/N),'' he said, looking at her after diverting his eyes from her for a while. He chuckled. ''You used to sing to me after each mission.''

(Y/N) froe, and if the soldier noticed, he didn't seem to comment on it. There was desperation in his eyes. Something that you would and could only find in someone who's broken. 

Sighing, (Y/N) began to hum lowly in hopes of seeing if she had recovered from the injection. She sighed softly when she felt the soldier relax slowly. 

''Continue,'' he told her when she had stopped. (Y/N) looked back at his expression. He looked mainly content, and the sunlight shining through the blinds helped with that fact all by itself. 

Just as she was about to do as he was told, he picked her up from under her knees, bringing them both to the bed. As he was getting comfortable, his hands met her hips again. 

"I was right. You are clingy,'' she huffed, shuffling closer to him. ''I should've just kicked you in the throat,'' she mumbled but began to hum once more, feeling the soldier faintly smile. 

As soon as she did, a sigh came from the most wanted assassin, feeling at ease finally. 

Though he couldn't remember when it felt like to be happy, he was sure that this was something similar to that. She was special. 

(Y/N) was like the Sun. 

She made his days brighter just by herself. Most of his days herself were spent in the dark. He felt no emotion usually, but with her, all the time. Whether it be being with her, or near her, it was enough. Cloud 9 on hyperdrive, if you will. 

He felt the best he could be. He wanted it to be like this forever, even if fate decided against it. 

Winter groaned, moving so that his face was in the crook of his neck once more, placing a kiss once more. 

''Mine.''


	27. Chapter 27

ᴴᵉ ˢᵃⁱᵈ, "ᴴᵉʸ, ˢⁱˢᵗᵉʳ, ⁱᵗ'ˢ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ, ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ⁿⁱᶜᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵐᵉᵉᵗ ʸᵃ."  
ⁱ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵐᵉᵗ ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁵⁻ᶠᵒᵒᵗ⁻⁷ ᵍᵘʸ ʷʰᵒ'ˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵐʸ ᵗʸᵖᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

Agents packed into the dark hallway which had crumbling walls surrounding them. All said agents held automatic firearms that were ready to fire if anything were to happen. 

A man stood out from the agents. He didn't hold a weapon himself and had his hands clasped behind his back, way too full of himself. 

He looked at the two agents who stood in front of who guarded a room, sending them a nod in which they both returned. ''Open the cage to Asset STS: A59,'' he ordering in rough English, but it was understood none the say. 

The large, rusty yet reinforced steel door was opened, releasing cold air from the below temperature room. Some agents shivered at the feeling as the leading commander walked in, the agents following right behind him. 

A woman, who couldn't have been less than 22, was in the middle of the room, her (H/C) hair falling over her face to hide her features.

At the sound of the metal door creaking open, her head shot up. Dimly lit gold eyes stared at them, darting around each agent. 

The agents couldn't help but let out inaudible gasps and gulps. The sharp eyes felt like they would be able to pierce through their souls.

Chains held her in place, piercing through her skin in the process, blood dripping on the floor that could be seen. A tight muzzle with needles covered half of her face, and handcuffs that covered the entirety of her hands. 

''Good to see you again, Siren.''

══ ⋆★⋆ ══

''Can we get a dog?"

At (Y/N)'s question, Nico and Winter's heads both shot up. Winter sent her a confused look as he did so. 

''You want to get.. a dog?" he questioned with a head tilt. (Y/N) nodded as she tightened the combat boots she had on her feet. 

''Why not, you know? It'll be a good thing. I could feel it,'' she stated, standing up with her hands on her hips. ''Besides, I was going to get one anyway.''

(Y/N) pouted as she looked at the assassin who eyed her up and down. She was already dressed, almost as if she knew she would be able to go anyway. 

Winter grunted while Nico mewled in protest. ''You know what happened when you went out last time,'' he grunted, glaring at the recent, distasteful memory.

(Y/N) pouted again. ''But I'll be right by your side this time. Hell, you can even come with me to the bathroom if you'd like,'' she said with a wink.

Unknowingly, he could feel his face warm at her seductive tone. ''N-no. I wouldn't do that.'' (Y/N) gasped. 

''Did the Winter Soldier just stutter?!'' (Y/N) said dramatically, falling back onto the couch as if she had fainted. 

Opening one of her eyes, she was blessed by the gods of the scene in front of her, be sure to save it in her photographic mind. 

Have you ever seen this man blush? It'd been a sight (Y/N) now adored.

''Whatever,'' he grumbled. ''What do you even need a dog for in the first place?" he asked. (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders. 

''It's a dog, Winter. Protection and cuteness. What else needs be said?" she said. The assassin came closer to ruffle her hair.

''For one, I'm enough protection you need. And call me James, doll,'' he said. Another gasp came from (Y/N) as she shot up from the couch, frightening Nico in the process. 

''CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT?"

''Shut up. You'll wake the whole floor.''

''Please. They should be blessed to even hear my voice at 7 in the morning.''

''More like cursed.''

The assassin chuckled lowly at the sigh of the woman with her mouth wide open in disbelief. ''Close your mouth, princess. You might catch flies.''

(Y/N) frowned with her arms crossed like a child. She wasn't like how the tables were turned and backfiring immensely.

''So... can we get a dog?''

''No.''

☆☆☆

''This is the second time you've done this,'' James grumbled as he got out of the car, following (Y/N) who had Nico seated on her shoulder. 

''I'm just very good at convincing you. And Nico helped,'' she said, remembering the fact that she had basically run out of the hotel with the black cat with an angry, worried assassin chasing after her. 

James stood beside her, arm wrapped around her waist with a firm grip. Not tight enough that it would hurt, but she would have to struggle slightly if she wanted to get out. 

''What breed are you even getting?' he asked, slightly annoyed as they made their way into the pet facility. (Y/N) shrugged her shoulders for the second time that day. 

''I'll know what I want when I see them. You could help too, you know,'' she told him, walking up to front desk where a blonde was. 

''Hi! How can I help you today!'' she said cheerfully with a closed-eye smile. (Y/N) sent her a soft smile in return. 

''We're looking for a dog. We don't really have a specific breed in mind,'' she told her. James softly smiled to himself. ''Maybe a big one,'' he mumbled to her, getting a nod from her. 

There was a spark in her eyes when she talked about anything she had an interest in, and it made him feel lighter inside. 

The two of them, including Nico, made their way into the back, the sound of dogs barking could be heard even before they got into the actual room.

''Are you sure you want to bring your cat inside,'' the blonde asked, gesturing to Nico. (Y/N) shook her head. ''We'll be good. Thanks,'' she said back to her.

The woman nodded as she opened the door. If the barking wasn't loud before, it sure was now. (Y/N) looked back at James.

☆☆☆

''All of these dogs are annoying,'' he grumbled, referring to the previous bite marks he had gotten on his flesh arm. 

''Indeed, but you can't deny the fact that they are all cute,'' (Y/N) said. Her eyes landed on a dog that looked like it had gone through some shit. ''Okay, not all of them.''

The woman held Nico in her hands as she crouched down in front of another cage. The dogs in the cages, the seemed to be Duchesses, starting growling at Nico, instantly making (Y/N) pull away. 

(Y/N) sighed. ''None of them like Nico,'' she pouted slightly. James hummed, ruffling her hair again. ''We can always try another day.'' 

(Y/N) sent him a look. ''We might be able to try another day. You know that,'' she said. 

James knew what she meant by that. They could never stay in an area for long. It sucked, even though they both knew why they needed to do it. Getting caught by Hydra was not something they could risk doing. 

James huffed, looking back (Y/N) who had moved to another cage, holding Nico up to it, pouting once again her attempts for one of them to like or even stand Nico failed.

He eyed her, making sure she was fine at the moment as he walked around himself, automatically passing and ignoring the canines that barked aggressively as he passed. 

Then his eyes landed on the last cage all the way at the end of the room. It only held one. A white dog with little rays of black, and seems larger than average. 

Walking towards the, he crouched down in front of it. The dog raised its ears in awareness of James as they eyed him, but made no effort to move.

A growl of approval came from them as James began to put them through the cage gaps, a smirk appearing on his face. 

At the sound of footsteps, James stood up and turned around, much to the disapproval of the dog whine at the loss. His eyes met with the blue-eyed blonde they had talked to earlier. 

''I see you found Axel,'' she said, her accent shining through and onto her words as she spoke. It surprised him how many people in the country had gone out of their way to learn English. ''He's a Belgian Tervuren. Been here for almost 2 years,'' she told him.

James hummed, making eye contact with (Y?N) as she began bouncing her way over to the two, a frown still on her face. ''They don't like my baby,'' she said while petting Nico. ''Bad dogs,'' he swore he heard her mumble.

Cute.

His eyebrows furrowed at the thought as it surfaced, but didn't pay attention to it for much longer as (Y/N) moved towards Axel's cage, the white hound's eyes following her the whole time. 

''You like this one?" (Y/N) asked, back still to James but she knew he was paying attention to her. James hummed once more in response.

She held Nico up to Axel, who's eyes lit up at the sight of another species. Nico had a different reaction, guessing that he could be like the others and try to attack him. 

Axel did the opposite, sniffing the black feline intensely as he scratched at the floor, trying to get closer. Despite his energetic behavior, it didn't seem like he had any hostile intentions towards Nico. 

(Y/N) smiled, turned back to James who had his eyes locked on hers the second she did so. God, how he could look into her (E/C) eyes and never get tired of it at all. 

''He's a keeper!'' she said to him, nodding at the blonde worker who left to get the paperwork and keys to open the cage. 

A small grunt escaped him as (Y/N) tackled him into a hug, stumbling slightly as he went to balance both of them. 

''Thank you, thank you, thank you,'' she repeated, her voice muffled in his chest. James chuckled as he ruffled her hair again. ''Anything for you, princess.''

The blonde came back a few moments later, a least, the kets, and papers in her hands. ''All you need to do is fill these out and you'll be good to go. You won't be changing his name, will you?" she asked. 

(Y/n) and James both shook their heads. ''Axel is fine,'' (Y/N) answered for the both of them as she took the papers in her hands James hovered over her shoulder slightly as he watched her do so. 

The blonde laughed softly. ''You two make such a good couple,'' she said, making the both of them, including Nico, look up to stare at her. 

''Couple?" James said to her for the first time with a head tilt. The blonde raised an eyebrow. ''You come in here with your hand on her waist and you have those awestruck eyes. Sorry if I assumed,'' she said. 

The both of them nodded, her word still echoing in their heads. 

As the two women and Nico went to go retrieve Axel, his eyes watched (Y/N) carefully, an instinct he seemed to have. 

Did he really look awestruck when he looked at her? It was never a thought that came to mind but did do a lot of things that he wouldn't regularly do even with her on a 'normal' day. Noticing the way her tone changed with different subjects or the way she smiled brighter when he reached her a new language. 

A sigh came from him as he ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe he'd have her cut it. Would she mind? What would (Y/N) even think?

What did (Y/N) even think of him? Was it negatively? He did basically kidnap her, but it didn't seem like she did. However, he'd been deceived so many times in his (long) life he could be wrong. Everything's a possibility. 

Blinking, he slowly brought himself to reality when something rubbed again his leg. (Y/N) laughing softly reached his ears. 

''I guess he really likes you,'' she said to the assassin as he crouched down, Axel not seeming to mind the gloves that covered his hands as James pet him. 

''I mean, who couldn't?" she said with an innocent smile that made James' heart beat faster the longer he stared it. He needed it in his life. Like the Sun. 

(Y/N) was his Sun.


	28. Chapter 28

ᵂᵉˡˡ, ᵇᵃᵇʸ, ᴵ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵖᵉᵉᵖⁱⁿ', ᵃⁿᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃⁱⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵃᵐᵉ  
ᴸⁱᵏᵉ, ʷʰᵒ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵒⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵐⁱⁿᵈ? ᵂʰᵒ ᵍᵒᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ?  
ᵂʰᵒ ʸᵒᵘ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵛⁱᵇⁱⁿ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵃⁿᵈ ʷʰʸ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᴵ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ?

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

As soon as her eyes opened, she could tell she was in a dream. Maybe not even a dream, but wherever it was, she couldn't have been conscious. They had been vivid 'dreams' she'd been getting for the past weeks. 

It was sort of like an out of body experience, you could say. She could and would look down at herself and see her cuddling with James, Axel on the foot of the bed with Nico near him.

Despite it all, her footsteps echoed around the rooms she exited and entered. They seemed to lead her on her own as she entered the living room. 

It was the same every single time. The TV flickered on at times, creating to soothing, static noise that danced with burning fireplace that dimly lit the room. No matter how much time pass in this place she was in, the sun never rose and the stars never shined. 

And there he was. The man dressed in black was always there. A brown leather book was in his hands in a language she couldn't read at all. He spoke, but like the book, she didn't understand. 

As she got closer, inch by inch, she could only make out certain features, as if her mind was trying to stop her from knowing who it was. There were only certain things like how he had porcelain skin and long, onyx hair. 

''Hello again, love,'' he always greeted her in English. Not even a second later after he said the words, his bright, mysterious green eyes met her (E/C) eyes. It always made her frown when she couldn't remember specific details about them when she woke up, but here they were so clear. 

As one hand still held the book, the other patted the couch seat next to him, silently inviting, but more like telling her, to sit in which she complied. 

Her mind got fuzzier, but her feet dragged her over nonetheless. On regular occasions, she might've been frightened, by she felt somewhat safe in his presence. 

It felt as if her mind was fighting itself when she sat next to him. The overwhelming wave of drowsiness battling, yelling at the euphoria that filled her from head to toe. The worst part was that it wasn't letting her choose which one she wanted. 

''It's side effects of all of this. I'm sorry, dear,'' the man said sincerely as he sat the book down to the side. ''It's been a while since I've ever pushed my self to enter one's mind. You're very difficult, (Y/N),'' he told her. 

She didn't question what he meant by that. Was it something bad or good? How did her name? Her mind couldn't even make up its own mind in this state. How could she? All she did was hum in response as she laid her head on his shoulder. 

It felt as if she was standing in a circle of ACs on full blast that could power a small country. A harsh cold that was on the edge of piercing her skin, but wrapping her in a comforting hug instead. In response to the feeling, she sighed, snuggling closer to the man. 

''I don't even know you,'' she mumbled, the logical part of her undecisive mind told him. The man chuckled, igniting something inside of the woman that wanted to make her melt even further.

''I don't think I would mind if I shared you with him,'' he said, putting his hands on her hips. (Y/N)'s eyebrows furrowed, now realizing she had made her way onto his lap subconsciously.

''What are you doing?" she asked, he question not exactly directed to anything in particular. She was confused, but while being in this state, she didn't did know if she wanted to exactly leave it. 

''The Daze of Rhapsodic. It makes you feel like you're in a sleep haze with euphoria accompanied it. Clinginess is something that comes along with it. I don't mind if it comes from you,'' he told her honestly, starting to rub circles on her skin that left goosebumps in its wake. 

Again, she didn't know if that was supposed to make her feel even better the whole situation. Would he take advantage of her as if it was some sort of mental torture?

The man who'd she rested against scoffed. ''I wouldn't do such a thing, (Y/N). You can trust me,'' he told her, which seemed to make her worries go away and muscles relax. 

''Don't let him find us,'' she tiredly mumbled, burying her face deeper into his chest. Though (Y/N) couldn't see it, the man was had an eyebrow raised, his interest piqued.

''What man?" he questioned, rubbing the circles on her skin even slower. It almost made her fall asleep again, or in this case, would she wake up? "The man with golden eyes,'' she yawned. 

The man hummed again, almost as if he was debating with something. ''Why don't you get some sleep, dear?'' the man said quietly, knowing she was probably almost the point of going to sleep. He picked her up gently, carrying her to the room she was previously in. 

Through dazed eyes, (Y/N) looked out the windows where she could see something. Stars. Hundreds of thousands of them shining onto the house. It hadn't been like that any other times, though, they felt like eyes prying. Tiredly, the words fell out of her mouth. 

''Don't rat us out.''

☆☆☆

Heimdall chuckled to himself, much to Thor's confusion who stood a few feet away from him, slightly pacing back and forth. 

''Well?" the blonde prince asked, already on edge. ''Where are they?" The protector of the Bifrost shook his head as his hands rested on the head of his golden sword. 

His eyes shined, but not as if he was looked at Thor. No, his eyes were in a place that was galaxies away, skipping over them like a frog on leap pads. 

''She told me not to rat them out.''


	29. Chapter 29

ᴱᵛᵉʳʸ ˢᵘⁿᵈᵃʸ'ˢ ᵍᵉᵗᵗⁱⁿᵍ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵇˡᵉᵃᵏ  
ᴬ ᶠʳᵉˢʰ ᵖᵒⁱˢᵒⁿ ᵉᵃᶜʰ ʷᵉᵉᵏ  
"ᵂᵉ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵇᵒʳⁿ ˢⁱᶜᵏ"  
ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵉᵃʳᵈ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ˢᵃʸ ⁱᵗ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

(Y/N) put her the last of her bags into the truck, sighing as she shut it closed. She heard footsteps from behind her. 

''Tired already?" James said, holding a few blankets for the backseat in one of his arms. Turning around, she saw the sly smirk resting across his face.

''Not everybody's built like you, Muscle Man,'' she huffed, earning a laugh from James. ''Muscle Man? Is that the best insult you can come up with?" he teased. 

(Y/N) moved to sit on a chair that was in front of the hotel as James placed the blankets neatly on the backseat. ''You're a bully, is what I should've said,'' she said to him, crossing her arms over her chest. 

James raised an eyebrow as he stared at her. ''Are we seriously doing this again?" he asked. She made a hmph noise as she closed her eyes and nodded her head. 

"Princess...'' he drew out, walking over to her before crouching in front of the woman. ''We need to start getting on the road,'' he said in a sickenly sweet voice. (Y/N) didn't give in.

Instead, she stuck her tongue out at the century-old man. ''What are you gonna do about it grandpa?" she said with a smirk. 

Before she could open her eyes to see his reactions, she was tossed over his shoulder, making her squeal out. ''What the hell? Put me down!'' she laughed, hitting his back playfully. Ooo, nice ass, she thought. 

James chuckled, carrying her still as he made his way to the black Impala, Axel carrying Nico by his scruff as they followed behind them. 

''I could've done that myself,'' she huffed as James sat her down in the passenger's seat, but automatically raised her arms, as he put her seatbelt on, saying thank you to him quietly. 

''Yet you seemed to enjoy being manhandled,'' he said teasingly once more, chuckling quietly when (Y/N) turned and looked at the window. ''Shut up,'' she mumbled. 

Nico and Axel piled into the back seat, the Belgian dog barking slightly as he nudged Nico with his snout. (Y/N) internally awwed at the sight.

''So where are we going now?" she asked James as he got in the car, hopping in her seat slightly. He seemed to still for a second before responding. 

''I plan on taking us up North and to do that, we have to Hungary,'' he said with a frown.

(Y/N) held a frown as well when the realization of what he had set in. ''Isn't that-" ''Yeah,'' he said, starting the engine before leaving the hotel. 

There was a known Hydra station up North. It would mess up whatever plan they had if they crossed paths. It didn't help that they were already still close to Romania. Going North seemed to do them no better of it. She was going to question him, but decided against it. 

It seemed that the irony of it all was funny to her in a way. She was sitting in the passengers' seat of one of her favorite cars. Well, really her only favorite car. One she wouldn't even let Sam drive. Her knees were brought to her chest as James drove. The only difference was Axel and the fact she wasn't handcuffed. 

It was strange. He was a dangerous man, assassin instincts and intuition running through his blood thanks to his time with Hydra and super serum. He could kill her at any moment and was mentally unstable if his activation words were spoken. 

And yet even with that fact alone, she was sure that we couldn't hurt her even like that. He'd been in his Winter Soldier state for a few months before he showed any remote signs of 1940s James Buchanan Barnes. 

His protective streak was strong in both consciousnesses. They treated her like glass, but make her feel wanted and useful nonetheless.

She was protective of him as well. Often, she'd wake up in the middle of the night to James or Winter when he'd relapse wondering why she was doing any of this. She could leave at any moment, and yet she could never find herself to do so. Something tugged at her to stay. 

"𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴?" (𝘠/𝘕) 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 (𝘏/𝘊) 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 

𝘈 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 40𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 

''𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?" 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. ''𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴?" 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 

''𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?" 𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰. ''𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸,'' 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥. ''𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨,'' 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵. ''𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵?" 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. (𝘠/𝘕) 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸. 

''𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.''

The engine silently hummed as (Y/N) glanced over James whose eyes were focused on the road ahead of him. Baby blues with pupils dilating slightly when he noticed her staring at him. 

(Y/N) hummed, interlacing her right hand with his left one as he used the other to steer. Though it was his flesh hand, it was still cold, a contrast to her warm hand. He looked over at her fully for a second before he smirked. 

''That touch-starved of me already?" he asked, but he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, tightening his grip on her slightly. 

''Cuddle session we get stop to rest?" she asked, looking at the rearview mirror to see Axel and Nico bundled up together. ''Please?"

''I don't see why not,'' he responded. ''Any particular reason why?" he questioned. (Y/N) shook her head even if she knew he was looking at her or not. ''Nah,'' she answered. 

''We need to buy Axel a collar, don't you think?''

''What collar?''

''I was thinking Navy blue. Or baby blue.''

''Sounds fine.''

''I wonder what you'll look like tied up in black..''

''(Y/N)!''

''What?''

''Don't look at me like that.''

''Whatever do you mean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a Wattpad account by the way. @-babybluejeans if you want to follow. I have more avengers soulmate books there, as well.
> 
> I'm probably going to start Civil War after this, so enjoy this fluff chapter!


	30. Chapter 30

ᴵ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʷᵉⁿᵗ ᵘⁿⁿᵒᵗⁱᶜᵉᵈ  
ˢᵃⁿᵍ ˢᵒⁿᵍˢ ᶠᵒʳ ᵈᵉᵃᶠ ᵉᵃʳˢ  
ᴴᵉ ᵐⁱˢᵗᵒᵒᵏ ᵐʸ ˢⁱˡᵉⁿᶜᵉ ᶠᵒʳ ᵖᵘⁿⁱˢʰᵐᵉⁿᵗ  
ᴬˢ ⁱᵗ ʰᵃᵈ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃˡˡ ᵗʰᵉˢᵉ ʸᵉᵃʳˢ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

They tugged on the long metal chain that was attached to the collar on her neck roughly as they dragged her out of the cage. 

You could hear her protest and other ramblings she let out that were muffled by the muzzle she was forced to wear. It was like a group of hunters bringing in a live wild lion for the first time as she pulled against all the chains they used to keep her in place. 

''Oh, come on, angel. Don't be so against it. You're doing us a favor,'' the commander said as they walked through the dark, yet dimly lit halls, though with the possession of the chained woman with them now, it seemed to be colder. 

It was clear to see that they weren't the only ones affected by the temperature. Despite being in a sub-zero room from days on end, she still hadn't gotten used to the cold. The only upside of things now was that outside of the cage it was actually warmer for her. 

They'd not even arrive at their destination yet as muffled screams and whining of machines and people reached all of their ears, all of them except for two people taking a sharp intake of breath. 

The commander proceeded to smile devilishly while the other agents' faces turned pale as they glanced at the woman in front, behind, and beside them. 

Her dirty, matted (H/C) hair fell over her face once more, but what was worse than when they were in her cell were her eyes. More lifeless than ever with their pupils blown wide. Was that fear or anger? It could be both, you could never tell.

They arrived at a door, large enough for eight people standing side-by-side to fit through. The screams and moans of pain were louder and they all felt like their ears were going to blast at their very moment. 

The agents began to undo the chains on her while the leading commander began to open the large doors. The woman's (E/C) and gold eyes widened, her mouth open wide when the muzzle was off, not caring for the dried blood and the lot of it that dripped onto the floor. 

The man with the metal arm, she remembered precisely, wanting to get closer to him, but was held back when someone tugged the metal leash once again, making her scowl. 

''Soldat,'' the commander catching the assassin's attention as another body fell limp from his hands. Agents with guns, not only the ones that were accompanying the woman and the commander earlier, aimed their guns at him. 

He grunted as he was about to go start on another bloodshedding rampage, but stopped himself when the woman was pushed forward, a gun made for him to clearly see resting on the back of her head. The commander smiled once again. 

''You know what to do, Siren.''

↟  
☆↞↠☆  
↡

''(Y/N)? (Y/N)? Wake up,'' a voice said, a hand making contact with her shoulder and shaking her bath and forth lightly. 

The woman groaned, nuzzling her face into the person's chest. ''Five more minutes, please,'' she begged tiredly, tightening her hold on the bottom of her pillow's shirt. 

James went silent for a moment before whistling softly. A few seconds later, a wet tongue made contact with her cheek, making her fact distort into one of disgust as she whined, gaining full consciousness slowly. 

''Uncalled for,'' she whined, sitting up as she rubbed her eyes. She was sitting on James' lap, the Impala parked in a small parking lot with a few cars here and there. 

''We're here, finally,'' he said, opening the door on the driver's side. ''It's not that much, but it'll do as we continue up North,'' he told her. 

(Y/N) nodded, rubbing Axel's head as Nico took his usual spot on her shoulder. ''Are they animal friendly?'' she asked, calling Axel to follow her as she got out of the car herself. 

James shrugged his shoulders. ''We'll have to find out if they are. If not, we can always sneak them inside,'' he told her. He crouched down the pet Axel with his flesh hand, growing a connection with the canine on their way to get to Budapest. 

(Y/N) frowned. ''Are you sure you wanna stay here of all places? I can always drive,'' she told him, getting a shake of the head from her brunet companion.

''You're getting tired of the car. I could tell,'' he told her, leading the four of them into the apartment complex. ''Just do what you always do in situations like this,'' he told her. 

(Y/N) smirked. ''Sit still, look pretty?" she asked. James rolled his eyes, flashing her his own smirk. ''Not pretty, gorgeous,'' he winked, turning around before he could see her in a flustered state.

''Whatever,'' she mumbled to herself. Her eyes wandered around the lobby of the apartment complex as James went to go talk to one of the maids. One bright side of being captured by Hydra all those years ago was he'd had almost all known languages lodged into memory despite not knowing how he got them. 

It wasn't the nicest place in the world like James said, but it wasn't the worst place (Y/N) had been in. She'd been in worst.

He came back over to her, rubbing at his left arm that was covered by the leather jacket that he was wearing. ''Well?'' (Y/N) questioned, noticing the small habit he had picked up on.

''We're good on Nico and Axel. There's a vacant room we can crash out for the next few months, I pretty sure,'' he said.

(Y/N) hummed before she whistled, grabbing the attention of Axel to follow them. ''A few months? We're not staying here for that long, are we?''

James shook his head. ''Of course not. Well, I don't hope so. It depends on how this plays out for us,'' he said lowly. (Y/N) shot him a slightly sad smile.

''That's what its always been about, hasn't it?''

↟  
☆↞↠☆  
↡

The cold look in his eyes seemed to darken as he stared at the woman with (H/C) hair. The harsh glare wasn't directed to her, per se, but rather the agent who had the gun trained on her. Any seemingly hostile movement the came from him could result in him blowing her brains out. 

The soldier grunts, his metal arm transmitting a loud mechanical whirring the echos out into the room. While the room itself was silent, the tension it contained was yelling. 

The agent behind the Siren gave her a rough shove forward, causing a low, animalistic growl to come from the Soldier. 

''Careful,'' an agent said to the other in German, ''he might try to kill you,'' he warned. Another agent snorted at his words. 

''Kill him? More like rip your damn arms off. He's already protective of her. Did you see what happened last time? It's bad enough you have that gun on her,'' they snorted once more. 

''Do your job, A59,'' the commander said to her. ''You wouldn't want to him get hurt, would?" he threatened, enjoying how her jaw clenched, striking a nerve. She moved forward at the command nonetheless.

Some of them had earplugs in while others stood there with seemingly no protection over their ears, something they would regret later, as the Siren made her wat towards the soldier. 

He was still glaring as he eyed her up and down, not liking the state that she was in. Nonetheless, his eyes seemed to soften. ''Sun," he addressed her by (but still a name she didn't know why she got), "you're bleeding,'' he grunted out lowly, his metal fist clenching and unclenching numerous times. 

Her humming started low. It didn't have any real meaning to it or rhythm. It wasn't loud, but as time seemed to go one, it increased in volume. 

''It's okay. I'm fine,'' she assured. Her voice was surprisingly smooth and clear despite the fact that she hadn't been able to use it properly in months. 

The glare was still evident on the soldier's face, but his shoulders seemed to slouch. Agents who didn't have earplugs or something remotely similar to it seemed to fall completely unconscious, not hitting the floor softly at all. 

Her humming soon turned into singing. If the agents weren't on the floor now, they were becoming slightly dazed, eyes hazed over as if they'd been drugged.

The soldier had a different effect, probably because of the super-soldier serum he'd gotten. His eyes changed as if he were gazing at someone he'd adored. No malice in them as he lowered himself to his knees, the woman doing the same. 

''Sun,'' he repeated softly. ''Are you okay?'' he asked verbally. He used his gloved flesh hand to wipe away to blood on her face, for his metal one had blood dripping down through the grooves. She nodded, as her eyes were no longer (E/C), but bright yellow instead. ''I'm fine. How do you feel?" she asked. 

New, more experienced agents entered the room, only effected by her humming slightly. Some walked in with her chains, others came in with large cuffs for the male.

''Calm, I think,'' he said, sounding and looking like a lost man rather than one who had just killed a few dozen people a couple of minutes ago.

''That's good. Remain calm for me,'' she said, as the agents took his arms behind his back, numbing his metal arm from use as they brought him from off the ground. 

''I'm going to be fine. You're just going to sleep for a while,'' she assured a forced smile on her face. It seemed to do the trick as he was taken out of the room with no complaints this time. The commander smirks as he ordered the agents to put the woman back in chains and a muzzle over her face once more. 

''Hail Hydra, A59.''


	31. Chapter 31

ᴮᵘᵗ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ᴵ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ʳᵃᵗʰᵉʳ ᵇᵉ ᵃᵗ ʰᵒᵐᵉ ᵃˡˡ ᵇʸ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ   
ᴺᵒᵗ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰⁱˢ ʳᵒᵒᵐ  
ᵂⁱᵗʰ ᵖᵉᵒᵖˡᵉ ʷʰᵒ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᶜᵃʳᵉ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵐʸ ʷᵉˡˡ⁻ᵇᵉⁱⁿᵍ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

''(Y/N)?"

The woman's head shot up from the dog she was playing with, brushing her hair out of her face, a small smile on her face when she turned to look at James.

''What's up?" she asked, ruffling Axel's fur with both of her hands on last time before standing up. She looked him up and down, talking in the outfit he wore before walking up to him with his gloves in her hands. 

''Going somewhere?" she questioned, handing him the pair of gloves. James nodded, taking them out of her hands and slipping them on. 

At his silence, she raised an eyebrow at him. ''What's going on in that mind of yours, huh?'' she asked, going over to the kitchen, James following behind her. ''You've been like this since I woke up,'' she stated, glancing over at the clock. 

The man rested his chin on the top of her head as he stood behind her, watching as she took out some vegetables to cut. A small grunt escaped from him.

''I don't want to leave you here all by yourself,'' he said lowly. (Y/N) smiled to herself softly at his words. ''Nico and Axel are here. And besides, I know how to take care of myself,'' she told him.

Another grunt came from James, a lower one indicating that he still didn't feel okay about the whole situation, causing (Y/N) to frown as she turned around. 

''How about you bring Nico along with you? If that makes you feel better,'' she noted, glancing over at the black feline who lad on top of Axel.

James hummed. ''Okay... I guess that works,'' he said, still slightly unsure, but was able to go through with it anyway. ''Stay safe, okay Sun?" he said, ruffling her hair. (Y/N) whined as she swatted his hands away and went to fix her hair, but was still smiling at James nonetheless as she nodded. 

''By the way, what's with the nickname?" she asked, placing Nico on the assassin's shoulder who whined to her softly. James shook his head. ''Nothing to worry about,'' he said.

(Y/N) hummed, shrugging her shoulders. ''Just don't get in trouble, you two,'' she said as she waved the tower off, Axel standing near the female. James nodded as both Nico and he left the apartment.

They could do this. 

☆☆☆

James stared at the two navy blue collars questioningly, face hidden slightly by the black hat he was wearing. 

Nico was draped over his shoulders, bored green-slitted eyes looked around the store the best he could, tail swaying back and forth slowly.

The people in the town didn't seem to be bothered by the duo. Yet anyway. The occasional kid here and there would point and look at Nico, but nothing more bothersome than that. 

''Which one should I get?" he asked aloud, but mainly towards Nco as if he would answer. The feline himself glancing at him briefly before looking down at the collars. One who was like Nico's that the spikes were stubbed while the other one was just a plain navy blue collar.

The cat let out a small noise, swatting one of his paws at the stubbed collar, getting a small smile from James.

''Yeah, I thought that, too. (Y/N) should like it,'' he said lowly, dropping the latter as they made their way to the cashier. Before they could get there, a pair of women approached Hames and Nico, cooing softly and smiling. 

''Your kitten is so cute,'' the blonde one cooed. James almost visibly cringed at her voice but ignored it. He didn't feel threatened much by the pair, just normal nerves that latched onto him. James nodded, not saying anything to her.

The other one of the pair, a brunette, was less interested in Nico, and rather than James himself, much to the feline's dislike as he hissed to her softly. 

''Are you single?" she asked bluntly, an arm wrapping around his left one, immediately causing James to tense. Of course, he'd been calm and no out lashes to the general public, but none of them hade actually made moved to physically touch him, nonetheless his left arm. 

By all means, it wasn't that the brunette was doing it on purpose (hopefully). He didn't trust anyone unless it was (Y/N), Axel, or Nico, even when it came to his metal arm. Or maybe just (Y/N) and animals in general.

''Um...'' James let out hesitantly. Eyes darted around the store as if (Y/N) would magically appear, anxiety creeping over him like a quick-spreading disease.

''Silent type, hm?" she said aloud, though it seemed as if she was saying that to herself. 'I can work with that,'' she said with a smirk and meeting his eyes.

Nico's low hissing that led on to an even louder level had ceased completely, only now glaring daggers at the brunette who absolutely wouldn't stop talking about James, though now it seemed it was more about herself. 

''I'm sorry, but-'' James was cut off with a loud clicking noise echoing out within the store headed in the direction of James, Nico, and the girls. 

''Babe!'' a female's voice called out. Even from a certain span away from him, it seemed to be filled with some sort of envy directed to some person.

Immediately after, another arm intertwined itself with James' right arm. Turning to the new female, he prepared himself for the worst and another clinger. 

At first glance, she could but all fit in with the brunette and the blonde, but something stuck out about her. Maybe it was her ivory-pale kin and the black lipstick she wore. Long onyx hair fell past her shoulders with bright green emerald eyes that stared back at him.

''I've been looked for you everywhere,'' she cooed, only then now noticing how smooth her voice was. Was that a British accent?

The unknown woman eyed the other two up and down, a look of disgust on her face as she looked at the brunette. ''Is she bothering you?'' the raven-haired woman said, some malice in her tone. 

In an instant, the brunette's arm now detached itself from James, mumbling an apology as she grabbed her friend's hand. James let out a sigh, the stranger soon letting go of him.

He felt better in some sense. Less tense, after the flirter let go of his metal arm. but still tense in the presence of the newcomer. 

As he went to go thank the woman, she beat him to it. ''There's no need. I hate seeing a trusted companion treated so dully by such women,'' she said with a slight bow.

Her eyes seemed to shine unnaturally under the artificial light in the stare before giving him a closed-eye smile. 

''Have a good day sir,'' she said, winking at the brunet male assassin and kitten before sauntering away. Even as she continued to do so, James remained to look in her direction.

''She was.. weird, don't you think, Nico?"

''Meow...''

☆☆☆

The sound of faint growling and the jingle of a bell, accompanied by the smell of the food (Y/N) had made a few hours of prior seemed to wake her up.

Who was she kidding, it was the growling that woke up. The food was just one of a wanted addition. 

''What's wrong boy?" she asked tiredly, burying her face into the pillow lying on the cushions of the couch. Axel's bright white coat caught in her side-eye vision.

It was only then when she felt another presence in the room. It was subtle, but it was there as she leaped a few feet in front of the couch and turned around. 

A small whine managed to escape from her as she was pulled back into someone's chest, tired vision blurring a second before recognizing the person.

James, her thoughts yelled loudly to her. Alert once more, her eyes snapped forward. widening at the familiar blue suit and the vibranium shield in America's known colors.

''Steve?"


	32. Chapter 32

ᴵ ʷⁱˢʰ ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᶠⁱⁿᵈ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜʰⁱˡˡ  
'ᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᴸᵒʳᵈ ᵏⁿᵒʷˢ ᵗʰⁱˢ ˢʰⁱᵗ ᵍᵉᵗ ʳᵉᵃˡ  
ᴬⁿᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᵖʳⁱᶜᵉ, ʸᵒᵘ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ'ᵈ ᵏⁱˡˡ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

''Steve?"

"(Y/N)?"

When he said it back to her, it felt like he was pulling on her heartstrings. It felt so broken despite how well the words held themselves together. His eyes were widened, but she couldn't read the exact emotion behind them. It was almost as if thousands of emotions were swimming behind those pools of blue.

How long had it been since they'd last seen each other? Months? It felt like it had been years. And above all of those rapidly changing emotions behind his eyes, she could see the hurt and obvious confusion there. 

And there were words — words she so desperately wanted to say — but she couldn't bring herself to say them, almost as if her pride and yelling thoughts shoved them back down her throat. A part of her knew what would happen next because she'd been in situations like this, and no matter how hard she wanted to deny it, she couldn't because that's the reality they lived in. 

James had his arm wrapped around (Y/N)'s midsection, a blank look plastered on his face. ''You're Steve. I read about you in a museum,'' he said, eyes darting down to (Y/N) for a second out of pure instinct before looking back at Steve.

He stepped forward a bit, placing the black notebook down on the table slightly behind him. A bad move, because at the movement, Axel was growling and pinning his ears back and already in a position to pounce, which caused the blonde to put his hands up in defense.

''I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be,'' Steve started, eyeing (Y/N). The blues basically screamed questions at her, but her own seemed to darken, sending him a light glare. ''But you're lying,'' he finished. 

''What is this about, Steve? Why are you even here?" she asked. The words came out of her mouth a lot harsher than she thought, which made her whine, but she still remained aware of James' presence as he squeezed one of her hands, grounding her at the moment. 

''I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore,'' he protested, lightening his grip on (Y/N), clenching and unclenching his metal hand.

''Well, the people who think you did are coming here. And they don't plan on taking you alive,'' he summarized, getting a nod from James. ''That's smart. Good strategy,'' he said.

James shared a look with (Y/N), both of them begrudgingly nodding at one another as she put Nico on her shoulder and whistled for Axel, the white canine obediently then moving to leave through a hole big enough for him to fit through that she had made a few days ago in case of an emergency. Now seemed like a good time.

The sound of heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs could clearly be heard by everyone in the vicinity as they did so. Some shouting orders in muffled German because of their distance away, making their actions more rushed. 

''This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck. (Y/N),'' he aspirated, his physical movement becoming a little louder and exaggerated.

James went to pull the glove for his metal hand as (Y/N) went for a few knives that were strapped to her left thigh. (Y/N) looked over at Steve who's eyes were already trained on hers.

''It always ends in a fight,'' she sighed sadly, the footsteps getting closer and closer to the apartment. The blue eyes the golden boy had seemed to dim, laced more with worry and betrayal bore looking at James.

''You pulled me — us out of the river. Why?" he asked. ''I don't know,'' was the immediate response from the man with the metal arm, the same blank and depressed expression on his face from before. 

''Yes, you do.''

A grenade crashed through the window, causing James to kick it over to Steve who slammed his shield over it, smothering the blast before lifting it back up.

(Y/N) was yanked over by the arm by James who shielded the both (well three with Nico in the picture) them with the mattress. 

''I don't want the two of you to get hurt,'' he muttered, throwing the metal table over the door as the slamming on it continued to increase in volume.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes as she stabbed one of the men who broke through the glass, tossing him over to her partner who threw him into the wall. ''And you leave here all by yourself to deal with this shit? No way in hell,'' she remarked. 

''Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone!'' he yelled, soon flipped onto the ground, the latter male in the room punching a hole in the ground and grabbing a backpack, throwing it out of the window. ''I'm not gonna kill anybody.''

Another small oof seemed to come from (Y/N) as the both of them jerked her back against the, sandwiching her between the two super-soldiers as Steve shielded them from the gunfire that rained on them.

''Get ready to get on the stairs,'' James grunted, picking up a cement brick and slamming it into a cop. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow at him as she stabbed at another cop, but hummed in agreement nonetheless.

''Don't die,'' he said to her as he punching through the wall, getting a snort from (Y/N). ''I'll try,'' she said as she slammed the wooden door down, laying down cops who were standing right behind it.

''Kill nobody my ass,'' she mumbled under her breath as she slammed a guy or two into the wall, managing to hit a pressure point under the immense layers of clothing they were wearing, paralyzing them and few others temporarily. 

''Come on, man,'' Steve groaned as he caught a man who was about to fall through the sware gap of the staircase. 

(Y/N) went over to James, holding onto one of his arms as he bent the red banister and swung them down to the next apartment level, slamming down on the wooden door hard enough to knock it down. 

''Hold on,'' he grunted, holding onto her tight as she stalked his way down the short hallway.

''What do you mean by that?'' she asked, though she tightened her own grip on the man at his words. A small chuckle even seemed to escape from him despite the situation as he began to run along the corridor. 

''You're cRAZY!'' she yelled as he leaped off of the balcony, burying her face into the crook of his neck as they were in the air. A small whine left her as they landed, shaking getting off of him and onto her feet. 

''Don't do that shit again, asshat!'' she hissed, checking up on the black feline who was basically burying himself into the front of her shirt. ''I'm sorry, boy,'' she cooed, then thinking back to Axel, wondering if he was okay. Poor doggo didn't ask for any of this, she thought.

A large thump brought her attention back up. It that fucking cat? she asked herself as she ran forward, sharing a look with James's whose face was screaming her, ''Keep going. I'll meet up with you later.''

Out of the corner of her face, she could see Sam flying in on the scene as she slid down the side of the building, a frown on her face as she thought back to the brother-figure in her life she hadn't seen in months, something that didn't happen at all for the pair who needed to talk to each other frequently.

They were after James, for sure. She was merely just a side character and (Y/N) was sure this picture could either be worse or better if she wasn't in it, but she wasn't about to abandon James, and she could help but be sure he would do the same if the tables were reversed. 

Jumping quickly through an opening and in an underpass, landing in the middle of traffic, cars honking at her as they switched lanes to avoid hitting her quickly.

She could hear at least three louder heartbeats from behind her as she ran down the highway, accompanied by the sirens of police cars than began to sound. A curse left her as she prepared for the worst. 

''(Y/N),'' a deep voice said from behind her. Not even giving her a second to reply or look over her shoulder, she was tossed onto the back of a motorcycle, much to Nico and hers dislike as she landed a bit roughly. 

''You boys really need to stop manhandling me,'' she belted harshly, getting a grunt from James at her words. She grabbed a gun on her right thigh, shooting at the ground in front of some police cars who distanced themselves for her and her shots.

''Not my fault, but I don't like him touching you,'' he said back to her as he threw a sticky bomb up in the air where it attached itself to the tan concrete. It blew up, destroying the roof at the end of the underpass that brung down a ton of rubble.

A cling off metal hits the rim of the wheels, sending the motorcycle to curve off to the side and the duo are thrown off of the bi-vehicle.

Right after Steve pushes the cat — as (Y/N) likes to call him — off of James, more armored police vehicle and men pulled up, the men in protective gear piling out of the cars with heavily loaded guns in their hands aimed at them as they got surrounded. 

James pushes (Y/N) to the side of him, shielding her slightly with his metal arm as a more bulky, black, and grey version of the Ironman suit lands in front of them with a large clank, repulsors aimed at the four of them. 

''Stand down, now,'' he says, anger lightly hinted in his tone. ''Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal,'' he concluded, policeman racing over to them.

At first, a blank look was on James' face as he was brought to his knees, but in an instant, it turned to a dark scowl and glare on instinct as it happened to (Y/N), noticing her wincing slightly. 

''I'm fine. Don't worry about me,'' she hissed in Russian, watching as Sam walked up with his hands in the air. This wasn't the day for them by a long shot as she glared at the ground, but her eyes were soon brought back up.

Instead, she watched as the cat man took off his helmet, revealing fellow melanin man who she could've sworn was attractive on any other day if it was the act that he wasn't trying to kill her and James, or glaring daggers at the both of them like it was his life mission.

''Your highness.''


	33. Chapter 33

ᴬˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ᵇⁱᵗᶜʰᵉˢ ʰᵃᵗⁱⁿᵍ ᴵ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵐᵉ  
ᴬˡˡ ᵒᶠ ᵐʸ ⁿⁱᵍᵍᵃˢ ˢᵃʸⁱⁿ' ʸᵒᵘ ᵐᵃᵈ ᶜᵒᵐᵐⁱᵗᵗᵉᵈ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

(Y/N) didn't notice how pretty Berlin was until now. However, she didn't think it would be in the backseat of the police car was where she would learn to admire it.

She was angry but was trying not to direct that at anyone but herself. She couldn't have protected James, knowing that if she hurt someone of his behalf, the guilt would eat him now, even so as he now.

And as much as she didn't want to direct her anger at anyone, she couldn't help but send it to the policeman. She was always one to keep her calm even under more pressured situations, but when they'd taken Nico, it was the first time the four of them had seen her lash out.

At the brief moment of Nico being separated from her, she hugged herself tighter. She'd not bother to sit in the same seat as Sam or Steve. She couldn't look them in the eye just now, so she sat next to the cat man. She swore he side-eyed her every once in a while.

''So, you like cats?''

''Sam,'' Steve said sternly like a dad talking to his disobedient child, making (Y/N) hold in a snort. Sam always had a reserved personal filter, and when it came to strangers, you never know what you were going to get from him. 

''What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat you don't wanna know more?" he snarked with a slight head tilt. He muttered something under his breath that (Y/N) couldn't quite make out, but nonetheless, she didn't care about it that much.

''Your suit... It's vibranium?" Steve asked his royal highness as the War Machine had said so earlier. The golden boy she knew's voice sounded different. Or maybe she was unfamiliar with it having it been a few months away. Had she really been gone for that long?

The man was a bit more hesitant to speak, but the way he held himself intrigued (Y/N), as did the necklace he wore. How did it even fit under his suit? Maybe he really was royalty. It would seem so, seeing how he held himself with high regard.

He narrowed his eyes sideways, but mainly towards Steve, but not that she minded the attention not on her for once. 

''The Blank Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle passed from warrior to warrior. And now, your friend murdered my father, I also mantle of king. 

So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?''

It went for a second before she was unable to hold back. (Y/N) snorted, followed by a small laugh that made the three of them look over at her. She was even sure that the driver and passenger looked back at her. 

Upon glancing over at the woman, T'Challa saw the light gleam of gold in her eyes. Malice and amusement, a dangerous combo that could be seen in the eyes of damn there every serial killer, or just murderers in general. 

''Sweetie, the question you should be asking is how long can you keep me away from him before he finally snaps?"

☆☆☆

(Y/N) glanced around the building she was in, making brief contact with James in the pod as she got out of the black SUV, sending him a reassuring smile. It fell when he just looked in the other direction.

And with that, she followed behind the three of them, sure to keep her distance and guard up at all times around them.

''What's going to happen to him?'' she and Steve managed to say at the same time, she saying it a little more urgently when she did so. 

''Same thing that's going to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition,'' a small, diminutive, grey-headed man. (Y/N) decided that she didn't like him at all. 

''This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Commander,'' Agent 13, also known as Sharon Carter, introduced the small man.

''What about a lawyer?" Steve asked, getting a brief, heartless chuckle from Ross. ''Lawyer. That's funny. See their weapons are placed in lock-up. Oh, we'll write you a receipt,'' he said, walking away. 

A scowl reaches Sam's face. ''I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that,'' he jibbed.

A visible wince could be seen that made even T'Challa look over at (Y/N) in the corner of his eyes who was looking in the direction of Bucky, now only looking at the metal automatic doors. Even if anyone else saw, they didn't say anything.

The aura she gave off could kill.

☆☆☆

They were walking on a covered skywalk surrounded with SHIELD agents when she spotted Natasha, eyes shining lightly with a bit of hope as she walked over.

''You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell. Now, do me a favor, stay in it?" Ross said. ''I don't intend on going anywhere,'' T'Challa stated.

(Y/N) much rather had taken a cell than an office area. It gave her too much luxury when she didn't know what was going to happen next. When she didn't know what was going to happen to James because she was sure that they weren't just going to give him a psychological evaluation and extradition. 

Natasha fell into formation with the three of them. ''For the record, this is what making things worse looks like,'' she said, then glancing over at (Y/N). ''принцесса.''

''Любовь,'' (Y/N) returned with a nod. ''Not that surprised to see you here,'' she said in which the redhead shrugged her shoulders. ''I seem to be everywhere.''

''He's alive,'' Steve said to her, continuing to walk down the skywalk. Tony on the phone soon came into the view, an unimpressed look on his face.

''Try not to break anything while we fix this,'' Natasha said, making (Y/N) rolled her eyes, but for her sake, she nodded her head. Couldn't they see this situation was almost, or basically beyond repair?

''Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said. Anything else? Thank you sir,'' Tony said in a bit of a rushed manner as he approached the trio.

''Nice to see you again, (Y/N). I thought you were six feet under,'' he said, pocketing said Stark technology. She shrugged her shoulders. ''Shit happens. Besides, you couldn't have missed me that much, could you?" she said in a rhetorical sense, but didn't notice how all three of the clenched their jaws.

''Consequences?"

''Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted. Have to give him something..''

TRAITOR

A slight shrug from the supersoldier and a glare from (Y/N). ''Not getting that shield back, am I?'

''Technically,'' Natasha added in from beside the billionaire, ''it's the government property wings,'' she said, directing her words to Sam. (Y/N) didn't really care about the weapons, just Nico, Axel, and James.

''That's cold,'' he said, shaking his head. ''Warmer than prison!'' Tony called back as he walked away. 

''That... could've gone worst I think,'' (Y/N) said, looking down at her nails. The stares from the both of then soon because evident and too much, making her finally glance up at the two who were staring at her, eyes seemingly digging into her soul. It made her gulp before tilting her head. 

''What?''

The glare Sam sent her almost made her let out a small whine. ''Okay. I know, I know,'' she said, clasping her hands together behind her back. ''Shit hit the fam,'' she mumbled, unfortunately, the both of them hearing her. 

''Shit hit the fan? (Y/N), you went off the grip for almost a year. And god forbid when we do find you, you've been sleazing around with the Winter Soldier?" Sam said, slightly scoffing. Steve and herself sent him a glare at the use of The Winter Soldier to refer to James as.

Had it really been that long?

''Everything I've ever done, I've done it for a reason. Sam, you of all people should know that,'' she said, a hang messing with a pair of earring she had found when she'd been on the run in a city west of this place, a mainly deserted and sweet town. ''And I had to do something.''

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, and she knew what he was thinking despite having done more than that. It had to be something along the lines of, ''But why didn't you tell us? There's something more to this,'' but before she could get the chance, a few people walked up to them.

''Are you (Y/N) (L/N)?'' one of the men from in the very front of the group. It instinctively made her tense as move closer to Sam who rested a hand on her shoulder when he recognized her familiar stance. She'd not really trust government officials or any type of agent in that matter after the fall of SHIELD. ''Who's asking?"

The man sent her a smile, but it wasn't assured at all. It made her want to jump out of her skin and run far away. ''They want you on live feed with a therapist. Mainly because with your close involvement with the — James Barnes,'' he corrected himself upon seeing her fierce glare.

She was hesitant, but she nodded as she held out her wrist, for the second time that getting handcuffed. Also the second time she had to send reassuring smiles to some of the people she cared about. 

''Don't worry about me. I'll be okay,'' she whispered, winking at them. ''I'm (Y/N), remember?" The nods they gave her were enough, making her sigh.

She closed her eyes as her feet carried her wherever they needed to be.


	34. Chapter 34

ᴸᵉᵃᵛᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ˢʰⁱᵗ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵃˢᵗ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᴵ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ⁱᵗ ᵗᵒ ˡᵃˢᵗ  
ʸᵒᵘ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᵒᵘᵗᵗᵃ ᵖˡᵃˢᵗⁱᶜ, ᶠᵃᵏᵉ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

When golden eyes opened, a glare was directed at the agents in front of her as they tugged her onto her feet, interrupting the short nap she was having.

It wasn't like she was having the dream of her life, of course, but didn't take the five hours she usually got of sleep for granted in no way possible.

And of course, it was going to be one of those days. They tried and would make her look a bit more presentable without really giving the idea that her face was going to be seen by anyone.

A fake sense of security and humbleness was given to her. They would wash her hair. If it was too long, the would trim it down to her neck before letting her bathe, but it didn't change the fact that she still felt dirty with or without a shower. The horror of some of the things she'd done still clung to her skin.

''How long has it been?" she asked as she walked down one of the halls with the agents surrounding her, flinching at how hoarse and foreign her voice sounded. At this point, the grey, dark and gloomy walls were morphed into something of a false luxury. 

She wasn't surprised when none of them had replied to her, but it didn't suppress her anger towards them at all. 

She found herself in a haze with the cryogenic temperatures they had her in. She wasn't asleep, per se, but frozen while awake. Days, weeks, or months would pass and she wouldn't even be able to tell.

Dressed in slightly more layers put her in a vulnerable state. It made her feel warm and tired, and less alert rather than when she was in frigid temperatures. Why did they even do this? It felt worse than torture. 

A cycle of tricks that kept roping her in, but cutting her off each time when she was so close. 

Of course, that wasn't the only reason that she was kept here. She had more use. Not at all to preserve the sanity that she still had left to keep her under control, but to control a beast that they originally didn't have control over. 

She was snapped out her thoughts as the doors of her 'room' opened. Even from the doorway, she stood a few inches away from, she could sense the tranquility that radiated from it, the smell of essential oils in the air. 

They gave her a push forward, making her shoot daggers at them, but walked in nonetheless, even flinching when the doors closed behind her. It wasn't like the metal doors to the cell she was in, but wooden doors that she could easily break out of, but they knew she wouldn't do so. 

Eyes darted around the room. They changed it each time. Was it because they didn't want her to be familiar with it? Still, they kept the same reddish-leather seat in the center next to a nightstand. 

Despite being familiar to it all (sort of), she'd never just go straight to the chair. Instead, she'd walk around the room, looking out of the reinforced windows that either showed a vast amount of snow or patched of grass stretching out for miles. 

She never ate the food they put out for besides the water and fruits she was familiar with. They even had her favorite food there, but she wasn't going to eat it no matter how much she wanted a taste. Anything else she would probably get addicted to and she couldn't risk that. 

Eventually, she made her way to the leather chair, hesitant to sit in it, too, but got their nonetheless. She knew the had cameras all around the room in different angles to watch were, sure to learn what made her really tick. 

She flinched even harder when music began to fill the room from speakers overhead. Not just upbeat music, but classical. Tunes that you would usually listen to to make your heart swoon or slow dance with a loved one. 

Maybe that's what made her hate the room even more? Her golden eyes turned brighter as her hands covered her ears, but it didn't seemed to help as the music increased in volume.

It wasn't hurting her physically, to say the least, but more so emotionally and mentally. Tears fell down her face from her eyes as she got out of the chair and onto her knees. 

''Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!'' she repeated, getting louder each time she shouted. Sobs and pleads soon turned into screams that made the glass objects in the room shatter and other solids rattle and topple over.

She hated this room.

══ ⋆★⋆ ══

It was strange for them to watch this. Some who knew she helped during the fall of SHIELD, or someone who let them into her home and stay for a few days, now in a cell with cuffs on her wrist even though they hadn't seen or heard for her in almost a years. 

The strange part of it all for them was when FRIDAY pulled up her levels, finding that her anxiety had actually done down ever since she entered the cell compared to when she was in any other part of the building beforehand. 

(Y/N)'s eyes opened the same time as the doors opened, finding some reassurance with the metal double-doors creaking open.

It revealed a man with blonde hair with white glasses, the doctor's coat he was wearing matching it. It was clear that this was the therapist that was there to give her a psychological evaluation but didn't mean she trusted him. People in that profession were sleazy, and she didn't like being handcuffed in situations like this. 

''Hello. My Name is Christopher Young. I'll be doing your evaluation,'' he said with a nod as he looked down at a notebook. "(Y/N) (L/N), correct?" he questioned as he took a seat in front of her.

''That's me,'' she said with a forced smile. Before Christopher could continue, (Y/N) beat him to it, an unimpressed look of her face. 

''Excuse me, but could you get my cat, Nico? One of the agents took him away from me.'' Her eyes lit up for a second. ''And my dog Axel. Where Nico is now, he's probably there with him.

The therapist tilted his head in confusion. ''A dog and a cat in the compound? I'm sorry but—'' he cut himself oof as he pressed a finger to his comms, mumbling something in response before looking back at (Y/N) who smiled at him.

''They'll be here in a second, Ms. (L/N)... Let's get on with these questions, shall we?" he suggested in a slightly annoyed tone. 

When (Y/N) didn't respond with anything with but a nod, he continued. ''So why were you involved with the Winter Soldier in the first place?'' he asked. (Y/N) hummed to herself softly. 

''I worked at this strip club in Romania. Long story short, a friend who I thought was my friend turned out to be Hydra and tried to kidnap me. The soldier saved me while kidnapping me in the process,'' she explained, crossing her arms over her chest. Talking about 'Derick' still pissed her off. 

Her voices echoed through the control room's screens and the cell James was in. He flinched upon hearing her voice and looked up at the ceiling of his pod, but didn't say anything. 

''Okay. You've been with him for about 9 months, if not more. Has anything.. even happened between the two of you? Maybe in exchange for your life?" he asked hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid to do so. 

Funny enough, James and (Y/N) scoffed in sync. She gave him a blank look before the doors opening. Loud barking from a certain Belgian Tervuren with a black tabby on his black tabby feline running right at her. 

A bright smile graced her features when she saw the duo, using her wrist to break the cuffs — that weren't that strong if she was being honest — as the two basically tackled her, making her coo and laugh. Young noted how bipolar and strong physically she was. 

''Missed you, too,'' she mumbled to Axel and Nico, she latter taking his usual spot in her shoulder while nuzzling into the side of her neck. On the other hand, Axel propped his head on her lap, (Y/N) running her hands in the space between his ears. 

''Christopher, right?'' she hummed, glancing at the therapist. ''I'm going to call you Chris if that's okay.'' The smile that was previously on her face disappeared and turned into a stoic expression, giving off the aura she had minutes prior. 

''You know, Chris. The last person who thought or said I was a slut, or anything similar, in exchange for my life had theirs taken away, just to let you know,'' she said in a monotone voice. 

Dr. Youn gulped audibly, both at the stares he was getting both from (Y/N) and Nico. The cat's expression looked surprisingly human-like. 

''Let's get this straight, will we? The soldier or James never hurt me, never would hurt me, and never slept with me. Do I make myself clear?" she deadpanned, words laced with venom at just the thought of it. 

She didn't even bother hearing the therapist respond she her usual smile appeared back on her face. It would make her appear adorable with her bubbly personality if she didn't change between them and flat out threaten a guy. Young took note of how she referred to James and the soldier as two different people.

''Let's get back to the evaluation, shall we, Chris?"


	35. Chapter 35

ᴬʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ⁱⁿˢᵃⁿᵉ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ? ᴮᵉᵉⁿ ⁱⁿ ᵖᵃⁱⁿ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ?  
ᴮᵒᵘᵍʰᵗ ᵃ ʰᵘⁿᵈʳᵉᵈ ᵈᵒˡˡᵃʳ ᵇᵒᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵒᶠ ᶜʰᵃᵐᵖᵃᵍⁿᵉ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ?  
ᴶᵘˢᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵖᵒᵘʳ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵐᵒᵗʰᵉʳᶠᵘᶜᵏᵉʳ ᵈᵒʷⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈʳᵃⁱⁿ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ?  
ᵂᵒᵘˡᵈ ʸᵒᵘ ᵘˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷᵃᵗᵉʳ ᵇⁱˡˡ ᵗᵒ ᵈʳʸ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵗᵃⁱⁿ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵐᵉ?

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

''I wouldn't say that she's crazy, but I wouldn't say she's not completely sane either,'' Dr. Young said to them, ''and maybe bipolar, but I can't be for sure,'' he told. 

Everett Ross didn't seem to care about (Y/N) as much as the others, more focused on the supersoldier they had on lockdown. ''Did she say anything about James?" he questioned with his arms folded.

Christopher looked down at his clipboard with a nod and then over to the control room's screens, looking over (Y/N) who was interacting with Nico and Axel with a slight smile on her face. His pupils were dilated with slight fear in his eyes as he did so.

''Ah, yes. She refers to the Winter Soldier as a separate person from James if you didn't catch on with the way she was speaking earlier. In the first early months with him, it seemed it was the Winter Soldier with her, but as time passed, it turned to more a sane man with his memories coming back. James Barnes, if you will,'' he said with a nod. 

Tony raised an eyebrow at the therapist. ''So you're telling me roboman over here has two personalities while sharing the same? And you're sure that he never hurt her?" the billionaire remarked, a slight scowl on his face. 

Once again, Christopher shook his head at said statement. ''Every once in a while even without hostile intent, he reverted back to the Winter Soldier a few times. However, what I got from Ms. (Y/N) and agents on the scene an hour ago is that he's seemingly hostile to everyone but her. 

''So?" Ross aspirated slightly, wanting to get over this with the conversation and move onto James' evaluation. ''What does this mean for us?" Christopher sighed, shaking his head. 

''It means that if all hell breaks loose, she may be our only hope. And to be honest, with someone like that willingly to kill for her, we might want to get on her good side.''

══ ⋆★⋆ ══

They were leading him down the hall when the muffled screams echoed around through said halls and the vents, putting a scowl on the assassin's face as they reached his ears. He already knew who they were coming from and wasn't at all pleased. 

The agents could feel him tense when they first heard them as well. Agents who worked there longer already knew what protocol they had to follow, but were still scared nonetheless. He could be unpredictable at times, especially when it came to her. 

Automatically, they went to take off the cuffs and small chains they used to tug on him with slightly. To say the least, it was a miracle he didn't kill any of them right where they stood. 

Although he could only hear the screams that seemed like they were in every direction, he seemed to know exactly they were coming from. A connection, if you will, that would pull him to her even if he was deaf.

And everyone who knew and saw him at that moment already knew where he was going and what he was going to do. They moved to walk alongside the walls while the soldier stalked down the middle of the hallway. 

He didn't show the wooden door any mercy as he kicked it down, eyes empty of any emotion because of his stoic expression as they landed on her, who was covering her ears as tears fell from her face and landed on the carpeted ground. 

Easily, he took out one of the guns that were still strapped onto him and shot at the speakers, successfully breaking them. Even after the music was gone, she still sobbed loudly while the objects in the room still rattled against their surfaces.

As he approached her, his movements were swift and silent but filled with care as he picked her up off of the floor, moving to sit on the leather chair with her still in his arms. 

The soldier wasn't one for speaking (at the time), but for the woman in her arms, he was always going to make an exception for her as he put her into his lap and made it so that she was straddling him, but comfortable nonetheless for her. 

''Sun,'' he grunted out. It was not only hard for him to speak because he hadn't done so in a while, but because of the emotions that radiated off of her and onto her. They were stronger than before when being this close to her. ''You need to calm down.''

It seemed to do the trick as she came back to her sense, the loud sobs coming to an end finally and the object in the room ceasing from any further movement. The gold in her eyes dimmed until to was her natural (E/C) eyes looking back at him.

''Sorry,'' she mumbled, wiping the tears away before burying her face in the crook of his neck as she calmed herself down, the process going even faster as he rubbed up and down at the small of her back. ''Didn't mean to worry you.''

''You always worry me,'' he hummed, not moving and more as he tossed his head back against the chair. ''Go to sleep,'' he ordered, eyes closed as he mumbled out the words. This time she hummed, running her hands, intertwining her hand with his metal one as she looked up at him.

''We'll get out of this, Winter. Even if I have to risk my life for it. I promise.''

☆☆☆

His eyes opened as soon as he heard footsteps coming down from the hall, the noise reaching his ears. A small, relieved sigh escaped him as he glanced down at the woman in his arms, seeing that she was still asleep. 

The soft expression he had when he looked down at her darkened as he looked up, seeing a few agents standing in the doorway, the wooden door still on the ground. He picked up the gun he used earlier and aimed at them, his other arm gripping onto the sleeping female a bit tighter. 

''Come any closer and I'll kill you. And if she wakes up, I'll make you wish you were never born.''

══ ⋆★⋆ ══

James' eyes opened as soon as the memory was over. The face of the woman was foggy to him, but the screams of whoever she was were still ringing in his head. And for some reason, they were familiar to him.

''Because I made a promise to you.'' 

''Even if I have to risk my life for it.''

''I promise.''

It all vanished from his mind as someone walked into the room, sitting down in front of the metal the was placed a few feet in front of him. A man dressed in dark clothes but looked somewhat comfortable in them nonetheless.

''Hello, Mr. Barnes. I've been sent by the United Unions to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?" he asked, but so anyway as he pulled the seat back and placed a brown bag on the table. ''Your first name is James?

He held his head down slightly as he went to speak. Pitiful it looked, but under the given circumstances he was in, it was reasonable. 

''I'm not here to judge. I just want to ask you a few questions,'' he started. ''Do you know where you are James? The things you've done?" Silence. ''I can't help you if you don't talk to me.''

The long-haired brunet swallowed thickly before he spoke. ''Only (Y/N) calls me James. My name is Bucky,'' he let out, causing for Steve and Sam to look at each other, Tony and Natasha doing the same as the redhead frowned. 

At this point, the former assassin didn't hide the fact that he was glowering at the therapist, evaluator, whatever they were called. He didn't want to be here. If anything, he wanted to be back at the hotel, standing beside (Y/N) as she cooked dinner, occasionally letting him steal a bite or two while Nico and Axel were cuddling on the couch. 

Not this. 

''Ms. (Y/N). You companion during all of this, correct?" he asked as he wrote something down in a notebook he had. ''Did you know her before any of this began? Flashbacks of her from your past? Was there an urge to protect her?" he asked in a knowing tone.

When Bucky didn't respond, only glaring harder, he shrugged it off. ''But that could just be what I think. What about you Bucky? You've seen a great deal, haven't for you?" he asked. 

If looks could kill, this man would probably be six feet under, if not deeper than that. ''I don't want to talk about it,'' James admitted, clenching his jaw slightly. 

''You fear that.. if you open your mouth, the horrors will never stop. Don't worry,'' he said, glancing down at the tablet he had, the screen reading PACKAGE DELIVERED. 

''We only have to talk about one.''


	36. Chapter 36

ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ˡᵒᵒᵏⁱⁿᵍ ᵈᵒʷⁿ  
ᵂᵉ'ʳᵉ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵍᵒⁱⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʷᵃʸ  
ᴬᵗ ˡᵉᵃˢᵗ ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ  
ᴵ ᵃᵐ ʰᵉʳᵉ ᵗᵒ ˢᵗᵃʸ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

''What's going on?'' Tony asked Everett when James' evaluation had started, the multi-billionaire's eyes trained on the screens (Y/N) was on. 

FRIDAY had alerted him even before the Task Force's sensors had picked it up. (Y/N)'s anxiety spiking. Slowly, yes, but it was happening nonetheless.

The others in the room finally began to pick it up as she sprung out of her seat suddenly, making some of them flinch. She went up and down the room pacing, arms wrapped herself almost as if she was wearing a straitjacket.

And only every once in a while would she stop. When she would, she'd touch the earrings Christopher had heard her mention she'd bought back in Albania when they were leaving the country, pulling on them softly as she muttered something under her breath than none of the microphones in the cell could pick up. It went like for a while before she went back to pacing.

''Anxiety attack, maybe?" Christopher suggested aloud as he stared at (Y/N) and the signs when they were coming to play. ''Do you want me to go back in there and check on her?" he asked Ross.

The man shook his head, declining the request. It made some of the agents that worked on the computers behind and in front of him eyes widen at the low regard he held for (Y/N), some opening their mouths to speak, but nothing coming out as they went back to work and kept their mouths shut. 

Natasha and Tony both scowled at that, but it would seem that they couldn't have much say in the word of things when it came to the Task Force, especially after they signed the Accords.

''Focus on Barnes' evaluation,'' the grey-haired man said, furthering scowls and looks of disappointment but it was done anyway.

The words Christopher had said earlier were beginning to weigh on them. (Y/N)'s panic mode had led them to determine that exact reason.

Christopher eyed the two Avengers, sending a sad small smile their way before looking back at the screens to (Y/N). In the little time that he had spent with the woman, he concluded a lot of things. And one thing he did conclude that she wasn't one to break easily, especially after all the things she'd been through. And he knew she'd gone through a lot. 

It was all in her eyes.

Something was about to happen. And it wasn't going to good.

☆☆☆

It was a blessing and a curse they had blessed on the two of them. And regrettably at the moment, (Y/N) was the only one between the two who knew what was.

How exactly Hydra managed to do it in the first place always confused (Y/N), but over the years, she'd learn to endure it, and learn that she wouldn't really know. The doctors who had performed such procedures were killed off by yours truly anyway.

Sharing emotions. 

It probably began when she'd first began to undergo test Hydra performed on her. It started with just taking samples of her blood, but then it slowly began to change and develop into something more. Something more dangerous. Small chants turning into barking orders in her head (Y/N) swore that were ones directed at the Winter Soldier, soon finding out over time they were.

The emotion stage didn't start hitting both of them right away, but definitely James quicker than (Y/N). 

In the beginning, it started off as small headaches that you could somehow ignore throughout the day. Nothing severe. A small distraction for the Winter Soldier, but when did Hydra ever care how someone felt? If anything, they felt as if it pushed him to work harder with the pain. 

But as the months passed, they became worse. Training with the soldier got worse as punches weren't pulled with the potential they had and close to failing or being caught on missions.

They didn't tolerate failure.

Even when they put him in cryo, the brain activity and pain alone was so severe they had to keep him out of ice in order to not cause brain damage to the point where they weren't able to control him.

It was worse for (Y/N).

She hadn't been with Hydra for long, so her pain tolerance was low at the time. With an ability not established yet either, she could yell loudly and the agents could go on without worry without getting killed in the process.

Often doctors or higher-ups in Hydra dynamics observed her, tears running down her face as her body ratted in pain, but glad to see she hadn't passed out yet. Some smiled while they watched, but some new Hydra operatives couldn't help but wince when they saw the (H/C)-haired woman in such a state.

''There are no prisoners with Hydra — just order — and order only comes with pain.''

Those words were engraved into (Y/N)'s head every time she cried or screamed — or both at the same time. Beatings and other punishments began. Maybe that's how her high pain tolerance now had come from. That and the abilities that had amped it up. 

When the emotion like did start to appear, it wasn't as strong as the Hydra sawbones though it would be with the amount of pain both parties had endured at the same time, but something the Nazis' were proud of nonetheless. 

The connection was strongest when they were close to one another, especially in a mental and physical sense. Most effective, and sometimes harmful depending on what they were feeling at the time.

Pain was something they were used to, but the physical and mental pain now that the link had been established, it was a heavy ache. Like being trapped in a dark corner in the back of their minds always, your demons clawing at you with no mercy whatsoever and your angels laughing maniacally. The physical pain only amplified the mental pain, and vice-versa. 

Distance meant something in some cases. From such a length away from another, or in a cryogenic state, emotions were numbed but not fully suppressed. Sharp pains come from an area one is hurt. To the soldier, small waves on melancholy since he himself didn't radiate much emotion off of him unless it was specifically to her. 

But in other cases, emotions differed from one another instead of being one. One of them could be angry, while the other calm. It was just like that now.

(Y/N) panicked. James was in discomfort.

And then, when the words were in place, they both felt nothing.

☆☆☆ 

''Soldat?''

''Ready to comply.''

''Mission report. December 16, 1991.''

''And get A59 while you're at it. You two were always the most dangerous couple, weren't you?''


	37. Chapter 37

ᴱᵐᵒᵗⁱᵒⁿ ᵘⁿˡᵒᶜᵏⁱⁿᵍ   
ᴬⁿᵈ ᵇᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵃˢᵏ  
ᴵ ᵃⁿˢʷᵉʳ ᵗᵒᵒ ᶠᵃˢᵗ

⊱ ──── 《∘◦●◦∘》 ──── ⊰

The dull thumps of bodies landing on the floor could be heard by people floors below, but the sound of metal doors plying off their hinges was even louder and evident around sub-level 5 east wing.

''Man, I just got bad vibes from the place. Exactly why I don't trust the government,'' Sam mumbled from under his breath as he followed behind Steve, the supersoldier going at a much faster pace the ex-militia man. ''Come on!''

''Do we have anything on (Y/N)? Is she okay?" Steve asked his partner, the latter giving a declined response. The two ran through the dark hallways with the red flashing alarm light above them, bodies littering on the floor as they did so.

Steve stopped to check the pulse of one of many agents slumped on the floor, luckily all of them passed out and not dead. The small horse whisper of someone made the wanted soldier look around, spotting the 'therapist' sprawled out on the ground, slightly disheveled.

''Get up,'' the supersoldier ordered, but nonetheless grabbing him and shoving him against the low illuminated walls in the room. ''Who are you? What do you want?"

The smirk on his face wasn't that large, hardly even there, but you could hear a tone most definitely.

''To see an empire fall.''

Just as he said that Sam entered the chamber, Bucky swinging his metal fist at the man, hitting and destroying a part of it in the process when the man dodged the attack. Still, he managed to grab him by the jaw and threw him at the open pod.

Steve dropped the therapist on the ground, joining in one the quick battle as he landed a punch on Bucky, didn't seem like the punch phased the controlled super-soldier, the latter kicking and punching the blonde out of the chamber.

A punch from Bucky goes through the metal elevator doors, denting it severely as he blocked it. However, the power behind his fist in the second punch sent Steve tumbling down the darkened elevator shaft, fortunately landing onto the carriage.

Sam started coming to with a hazed vision, spotting Zemo looking down the elevator shelf, a frown on his face.

''Hey!'' he shouted, grabbing the attention of the disheveled man as he turned around to face him, then bolting off in a different direction. 

''I didn't sign up for this kind of shit,'' he grumbled as he chased him over to the stairwell, looking up at him and the number of stairs it had, making him sigh.

☆☆☆

Unlike most of the braindead tools that Hydra had, (Y/N) didn't see red and every moving thing as an enemy, almost similar to the soldier, but a bit different. It was so that she couldn't do.. certain missions and pick out distinct features — something that the organization treasured and used wisely.

Her body moved free as she kicked down the metal doors with her foot with ease, super strength she didn't use even in the right state of mind. If she broke a bone or more, it was a guarantee that she would feel it until after.

Most of the agents that came after her were too late the open fire, either falling to the ground from combat, or the low singing reaching their ears. For some reason, even in the way that she was, she didn't make any moves to kill them as they did the opposite. Maybe she still had morals?

No, it wasn't that. It was because this wasn't her trigger. It was James', only a side effect that was played onto her. Her own mind somewhere else and on instinct to harm somewhat, but she wasn't on a mission.

He was.

With way too enhanced hearing than any super-soldier at the moment, she could hear multiple things going on at the same time, jaw clenching. A stampede of footsteps, rapid heartbeats, and a few gunshots going off here and there. Tiring, but almost depressing as they fell unconscious from her partner and herself.

She stopped, a faint ringing in her ears as she turned around, eyes focused on something in the direction. A familiar feeling had her running in said direction, stepping on bodies here and there with no care in the world for them.

When she did arrive at the area of calling, emotionless eyes landed on the super-soldier battering with someone, disarming them before throwing them into a wall. It made her smirk as she approached him, but it fell when a blonde started sparring with him.

Of course, she knew that he would handle it, but it still didn't make her feel any better about it. Running over to him when he started with a redhead staring at him blankly as he began to choke her.

The blank expression on (Y/N)'s dace diminished slightly, brows furrowing as she stared at the redhead and then back over to the soldier. She wasn't going to kill anyone, but she knew that he wasn't exactly thinking about the same thing. Some of these people felt familiar, but she couldn't place from where.

(Y/N) grabbed his metal arm, making him glance over at her, waiting for something to come out of her mouth and she knew what he was asking for her.

''Let her live, she grunted. Even though he was going to listen to her, he was kicked, forcibly removing him from atop of her.

As her hand reached out for him, he sent her a glare. ''No,'' he said with a hoarse voice, telling the woman to stay away from the fight he was in with the king of Wakanda. It made her scowl, but nod as she went to the stairs, but was stopped midway with a tight hand wrapped around her wrist.

She turned around the redhead, clearly out of breath and trying to catch it, but still set out to keep her within range.

''(Y/N).'' Her voice was cracked and dry, but still looked at her with wide, but caring (?) eyes. ''You have to fight it. I still see you in there,'' she pleaded, drip on her wrist seemingly getting tighter as she caught her breath.

(Y/N), or whoever she was at the moment, scoffed audibly, her left arm reaching out as the blonde rushed her head-on while she thought she was distracted, flipping the blonde over her shoulder.

''Damn,'' the blonde moaned in pain, landing on the hard ground near her foot. (Y/N) yanked her hand away, sending the redhead one last look before running over to where she last saw the soldier. She hummed, watching him jump off the railing, then following in behind her.

A yelp escaped from her as she was tossed over his shoulder, her surprise turning into some sort of glare, rolling her eyes. ''I thought I told you I don't like being manhandled, soldat,'' she scolded lightly. He grunted as his grip on her legs tightened.

''You're annoying,'' he told her, making his way to the rooftop, aiming to head over to the helipad. ''I save your ass way too many times.''

(Y/N) hummed a tune playfully with a smirk, enjoying when the soldier flinched a bit, sending her a glare through she knew he wouldn't hurt her at all. ''Don't do that,'' he hissed.

She didn't question why he ripped off the lock on the helicopter door, ready to put her on it, but stopped as she grabbed his shoulder, looking behind the two and the grey door.

''No,'' he scowled again, putting her in the chopper anyway, then himself as he pressed a few buttons to start the vehicle and get it to rise off of the ground.

Just as she was going to lay back and relax in the seat, the door to the rooftop opened again harshly, nearly getting ripped off, making (Y/N) sit up quickly and both of their heads turn towards it.

Their faces seemed to darken even more than they were as the blonde super soldier pulls hard on the landing gear, the chopper struggling to gain height. He was more of a threat than the others, and though she was against it, they were both thinking about it.

''..Kill him?" she asked, going to grab one of the guns from under the seat, but stopped herself as her partner throws the joystick left, slamming the chopper's nose into the edge of the helipad.

Razor blades are smashed into pieces, the body of the helicopter's glass doing the same in some areas in the process. Blood coming from some of the scratches she got were inspected but brushed off as she swayed.

''Soldier..'' the woman grumbled, the chopper beginning to list over the edge, already spotting the tail of it falling into the water. ''Saving me, my ass. You're going to get us both killed!''

Either he ignored it or something else because his grip on the other super soldier only seemed to tighten, not caring as the chopper finally tipping over the edge.

One hand gripped onto one part of the helicopter, the other around the soldier's flesh arm, though even still, didn't notice. Oh, how she wanted to kill the asshole.

The worst thing wasn't the fall, but when the water and chopper made contact, that's really when it was the worst. The substance didn't hesitate to fill her lungs, the sudden force filling her airways faster than before. 

But it stopped with a sharp pain the back of her head, eyes shining gold under the water before passing out

☆☆☆

''You truly are reckless, my dear. Do you want to die?"

It was that man again. Black suit and hair. Only one of the differences the noticed this time was that the ends were slightly curled. Her eyes narrowed curiously at him as she sat up from the couch she didn't know how she'd got on.

''I hate this place,'' she grumbled, already feeling slightly hazy in the place. ''I feel like I dumbed here, y'know?"

Her eyes darted around the room. It was a bit small but managed to be luxurious and comfortable. Different most definitely, the interior feeling like is coming from one of the Russian cathedrals, but also varying from that. Of course, it was gorgeous, but if she'd taken some drugs earlier, it would feel like an out of world experience. 

Hell, maybe it was already.

''Sorry about that,'' he told her, voice coming from in front of her, making the woman flinch. ''Sorry again,'' he chuckled, ''but do you want to get yourself kill?" he asked, a bit annoyed.

He tugged on her arm gently, asking for permission. She eyed him confused, but let him take it anyway. She looked at him in awe as he ran a hand over his arm, a green glow coming from his pal,. Scratched and scars she didn't remember getting slowly began to disappear, leaving nothing but dirty and dried blood near its place.

''I don't know, maybe?" she teased with a sly grin, but wincing when he pinched her. ''Not funny. Got it,'' she mumbled.

His features were a little more detailed for some reason, but she didn't question it. She could see that his eyes weren't completely green, hints of blue in the iris. She only had a few moments to appreciate his jawline before facing the other direction, looking at the lit fireplace.

''Do you know what happened?" she asked, growing anxious when he nodded and hummed. ''Will you tell me what happened?" she questioned, but with his silence, she took it as a no. 

She decided to not ask anything else on it. ''Well, will you ever tell me who you are?" she asked in a more hushed tone, glancing over at him still working on her arm. He stopped for a moment, eyes darting around for a while before landing on her. 

A soft smile was on his face he stood up from the ground at his full height, showing her that he could easily tower over her. He sighed, placing a palm against her head.

''Wake up, (Y/N).''


	38. Chapter 38

ᴵ ʷᵒⁿ'ᵗ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ˢᵉˡˡ ᵐʸ ˢᵒᵘˡ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵇᵃᶜᵏ ᵗʰᵃᵗ  
ᴬⁿᵈ ᴵ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ʷᵃⁿⁿᵃ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃᵗ, ᵃᵗ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

It felt like there were needles lightly pricking at (Y/N) from all over her arms, making her shoot up from the ''bed'' she was situated on.

She regretted that as she groaned lowly, holding her head as light shined in through a window. Where the hell was she?

She couldn't really remember much. All that she could was her dream, but before that? She was brought to a cell by a few agents, Alec and Nico were there, along with Christopher. Were those... sirens that had gone off? 

(Y/N) raised an eyebrow as she looked down at her arms. It was like in the very distinct dream she had. There were any scratches or indications of scars on them, making her curse under her breath at how accurate it was.

''What the literal hell is going on in my life?" she mumbled under her breath, though she did acknowledge that a larger shirt was thrown over her and she only felt that she had her bra on underneath. The shirt she wore earlier must've been discarded elsewhere.

Her fingers felt her hair, slightly damp (H/C) locks. Gods, she hoped that someone hadn't bathed her while she was unconscious. 

Just as she was about to jump off of the bed (which if she was being honest, was more of just sheets on a somewhat comfortable surface), she heard footsteps, making her shuffle back. Of course, she didn't have any physical weapon, but she had her voice which would have to do.

A sigh of relief left here when she saw the familiar glint of metal. Though, it shined differently and brighter when the sun hit against it as James made his way into whatever room she was in.

''Hey,'' he greeted, a little hesitant to approach her, slowly inching towards her. She noticed how he pulled down the sleeves on his maroon shirt to hide the metal limo.

(Y/N) sent a nod his way, muscles relaxing as she moved over to the edge of the bed. ''Hey James,'' she said back to him. At the sight of her partner's face, she spread her arms apartment, the supersoldier immediately accept the hug she offered.

''Y'know, I would ask if you were okay, but it's clear that question doesn't need an answer, does it?" she said, only smiling slightly when James shook with a bit of laughter.

''No, it doesn't,'' he said lowly, moving apart from her a bit. ''I'm... surviving, I guess. Don't know if I'm fortunate for that or not,'' he told her, cue a frown appearing on her face.

''Of course, you are. There's no way I'm going to let die on me, boomer,'' she said, ruffling his hair after a confused look appeared ran over his face.

(Y/N)'s expression then turned serious. 'I'm serious, James. I promise nothing will happen to you, okay?" she finalized, putting a hand on the supersoldier's shoulder, thumb rubbing soothing circles.

He sent her a smile that seemed forced. And though it wasn't a smile (Y/N) got over the months, they would have to work on that, and (Y/N) didn't mind that (a lot).

The sound of someone clearing their throat separated two even further. Looking over James' shoulder, she saw Steve, arms crossed as he leaned against a wall.

The metal-armed soldier rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly before turning back to (Y/n), giving her a nod. ''I'll... talk to you later, okay?" he said, rubbing his scalp as he usually did before standing up and walking out of the room, though sharing a look with his blond (former) comrade.

She couldn't help but say that this was awkward, even with the fact that she had seen the supersoldier earlier that day. For the most part, he seemed more upset at her rather than happy.

Steve, on the other hand, was conflicted as he approached (Y/N). Of course, she still held her sassy unfiltered personality, but it was clear that she had changed. And to be honest, he didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

''(Y/N),'' he greeted her curtly. The woman almost rolled her eyes. What was it with men and giving short responses when they were uncomfortable, though she understood. But if anything towards her, it annoyed her.

''What's going on, Steve?" she asked, looking out on of the small windows. ''What happened after the sirens went off?" she questioned the blond, to which he sighed knowing he couldn't dart around or sugarcoat anything.

''The therapist said Bucky's trigger words, and it affected you, too. I don't know if anyone was killed, but there wore a lot of unconscious by obvious blunt forces,'' he said, sending a knowing look to (Y/N). Before she could say anything, he cut her off.

"Bucky had explained what he remembers so far. From your connection with Hydra to the other Winter Soldiers,'' he explained briefly, another tired sigh escaping him as he took a seat on the ground next to her.

Blue eyes looked into her (E/C) ones, full with some hurt in them, and other raw emotions that made (Y/N) shifted around under his gaze. ''Why didn't you tell me? And don't hit me with any of that, ''I don't know,'' bullshit. I've had enough of it, today.''

(Y/N) snorted. ''Kiss your mother with that mouth, Rogers?" she teased, but the smile on her face fell as she looked down at her hands, thoughts swirling around in her head.

''Before all this shit hit the fan, I'm pretty sure Hydra thought I was dead, and I wanted it to stay that way. I got connections from people that wiped my records clean. Just wanted to be somewhat normal, you know?" she expressed with a shrug of her shoulders.

She continued. "I think I hid it well from you guys, but when I found out that SHIELD was Hydra, I freak out. It was only a matter of time before they found their mutant experiment again.''

Steve was quiet for a while, something that (Y/N) appreciated. He didn't rush out questions or demand answers right away. He was thinking about what say, in hopes of not offending her, or bring up unwanted memories.

We need more men like this in the world, no? 

''If you think I would be upset with you for wanting freedom, I guess I would be a little hypocrite myself, wouldn't I?" he said with a little chuckle, closing his eyes as he threw his head back.

''We all come from harsh backgrounds, (Y/N). Done things we regret, but we've learned from them. That's what's important, right?" he said opening his eyes to look at her. 

Maybe it was the words that came out of his mouth or the way he was looking at her, but (Y/N) turned away, face warming up a bit as she crossed her arms over her chest. ''Whatever you say,'' she mumbled under breath, but he knew that she had taken the words to heart.

She turned back to him after scanning around the room. ''So where are we?" she asked him, the clutching the oversized shirt she had on. ''And did you change my clothes?" she asked.

This time, Steve was the one who looked away, a small blush on his face before he answered her.

''Uh, an abandoned warehouse we can across. Put you two in different rooms in case you were still hostile. As for the clothes, we fell into a river. I promise Sam was the one who changed your shirt. We didn't want you to get sick,'' he admitted.

(Y/n) hummed, standing up from the sheet-covered surface, but ruffling the dirty blond's hair.

''I guess you're still good in my book, captain.''


	39. Chapter 39

ᴸᵒᵒᵏ ᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵒ  
ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵃᵈᵒʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ  
ᴵ ʷⁱˢʰ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᴵ ᵏⁿᵉʷ  
ᵂʰᵃᵗ ᵐᵃᵏᵉˢ ʸᵒᵘ ᵗʰⁱⁿᵏ ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵒ ˢᵖᵉᶜⁱᵃˡ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

It was different seeing Sam like this. The last time they'd seen each other, she'd practically been shading the man as soon as she saw him, still on her angered high of not being able to protect James.

He seemed like he'd changed. In a good way or bad way, she couldn't tell and would have to wait to find out. He was her best friend - brother even. But even family can grow apart until they eventually leave one another.

It was silent this time. No scrutinizing gazes words or gazes directed towards one another, just silence. Something that was used against you. His eyes weren't narrowed or wide. Just like they usually were on a normal day.

Y/N bit her lip slightly as she approached him, arms wrapped around her waist to give herself a hug. Of course, it wouldn't be the same. He probably hated her guts! Maybe his silence was just a facade to see how long it would take for her to crack and then he'd–

''You always overthink things,'' he said, yanking her by the woman's arm and pulling her into a hug. A surprised noise from her was muffled in his shoulders, though the embrace made her got slack in his arms.

''Thought you'd hate me,'' she chuckled pathetically, wrapping her arms around him as well. ''I wouldn't be surprised if you did, you know,'' she said that last a bit lower than the rest.

Sam sighed, one hand resting on the back of her head, rubbing at her scalp. ''There's no way I could ever hate you. I've been with you through thick and thin,'' he said, pulling her back from him to stare at the woman he, in a way, raised.

''Yeah, sometimes you're a brat and I want to hit you over the head with pan Rapunzel style, but you're still my little sister,'' he told her. ''So don't go around saying stupid shit like that again,'' he said, ruffling her hair.

Y/N's laugh came out a bit cracked as she wiped away a few lonely tears. ''Don't want to go too soft on me, do ya Wilson?" she teased, punching him in the arm shoulder. ''You hurt my feelings.''

Sam rolled his eyes. ''Whatever,'' he grumbled, but the adoring look that only someone who cared for you with all their heart could give said otherwise. ''But I meant what I said,'' he scowled. 

Y/N nodded, the small smile still on her face anyway. Not many knew, but Sam was someone that she looked up to, just like any younger sibling would do at one point in their lives.

''I know.''

══ ⋆★⋆ ══

There was a new girl in the crowd of veterans. He always recognized her as that one girl no one really talked to but respected. She always left when he tried to talk to her.

As someone who was in the army and now worked alongside PTSD veterans, he knew what pain looked like through the windows of your soul, and when he looked into her eyes, it felt like he saw pain 100 times over.

''The thing is I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a paper bag. I thought it was an IED,'' a female war veteran said, fingers nervously intertwined with one another.

Sam shook his head. ''Some stuff you can leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it. Is it gonna be a big suitcase or a little man purse? It's up to you.''

The meeting was short that day but went into deeper topics than usual, so it felt more stretched out. As he finished up saying goodbye, he noticed her at the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.

''Look who it is, mystery girl,'' he said, a small grin on his face. The woman with long H/C hair nodded, eying the room they were in before. ''It's always that intense, huh?" she questioned.

Sam shrugged his shoulders. ''Yeah. We all got problems. Guilt, regret. It's worse if you bottle it up.''

Her E/C eyes seemed to dig deep into his soul, and even being from the army, it almost made him flinch back at how intimidating the stare was. There was a small glint in her eyes, but it was only there for a second.

''You lose someone?" she asked softly, eyes moving towards the ground.

He nodded, the words always bringing back memories. ''My wingman, Riley. Fly a night mission. Stand PJ rescue up, noticing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky,'' he said with a slight chuckle. ''Nothing I could do. it's like I was up just to watch,'' he said solemnly, arms crossing as he seemed to wince just by talking about it.

No matter what, it still hurt.

He shook his head, erasing the thoughts. ''After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason being over there, y' know?'' he said, the H/C-haired woman nodding, lips pursed.

''But.. you're happy now, back in the real world?" she asked, voice even softer than before, almost as if she was asking for confirmation to see if it would work for her.

Sam chuckled lightly. ''Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero. So, hell, yeah. You thinking about getting out?" he asked as the two made their way to the entrance.

''To whatever life I'm living? No. I don't know?" It came out as a question, as if she'd thought about it for days. ''I am free, but it doesn't feel like I am. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I did.''

Sam shrugged his shoulders once more. He felt like he was doing that a lot. ''You could do whatever you want to. What makes you happy?"

She seemed hesitant on the question, looking at him as if she hadn't been asked that question in years. ''I..''

''I don't know.''

☆☆☆

He found her again after two weeks, hanging around a parking lot with keys in her hands and standing in front of a car. She seemed hesitant to get in it.

''Hey, mystery girl,'' he greeted again, a bit surprised with how she didn't flinch, only turning to face him. He was confused with the frown on her face. ''What's wrong?" he asked.

Her lips pursed even further. ''Um, remember when you asked me what I liked?" she reminded, twidling with the keys. Sam nodded. ''I, uh, think I like cars? I mean, I even bought one.''

Second-guessing herself again, Sam thought- no, knew. There was always hesitance in the way she carried herself. Why? He didn't know. He wanted to know.

''So what's your problem? This seems like your passion,'' he asked, moving to stand next to her but didn't touch her, knowing that not everyone was comfortable with that. ''Guilt? Regret?''

She shook her head. ''I, uh, watched a few races here and there on the streets but.. it's embarrassing!'' she sighed, covering her cheeks with her hands. Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

''I.. don't know how to drive..''

She was afraid he was going to laugh at her, but was surprised when he want over to the passenger's side of the car, her mouth hanging wide open. 

''What? I'm going to teach you, get in.''

☆☆☆

The sound of the front door opening wasn't something new to Sam who was stationed in the kitchen, already making dinner for the two.

''Sammy-boy! Where are you?" Y/N's voice rang out for the man, her shoes left her at the front door. ''The kitchen!'' he called back, hearing the footsteps rushing towards him.

"I won the race!'' she shouted, hugging him from the back, apologizing quickly when she saw that he was working with a knife. ''Baby Driver got 5 grand from it this time, too,'' she practically purred.

When Sam started teaching Y/N how to drive, it all seemed to come to her naturally, almost as if she'd forgotten everything but it was like muscle memory. He was impressed, however, when during the first month of her getting the hang of things, she started doing drifts in opening parking lots.

That began her career as a street racer. he didn't condemn it at all, the male sometimes having to bail her out of jail, but was glad that she'd found something that managed to put a smile on her face.

A troublesome relationship, the two had, but it was something he looked toward to throughout the day. Her rascal behavior that changed seriously when the time was needed reminded him of Riley, and instantly, he knew that the two of them would've gotten along.

When he turned around, a frown appeared on his face when he saw a bruise forming on and a fresh scar on her cheek, putting the knife down as he touched her skin softly, even still causing her to wince in pain.

''What happened to you?" he asked her worriedly, already seeing her take a seat in one of the chairs as she reached for a med-kit in one of the cabinets.

She chuckled weakly, though it turning into a hiss as he brought an alcohol swab to clean the cut. "This Italian dude, Aleximo, got mad at me because won his money,'' she said, rolling her eyes. ''Sent a few guys on me, but nothing I couldn't handle.''

Sam frowned even more at her carelessness for things, knowing that she wasn't one to care for her own mental or physical health at all.

''You're reckless, L/N,'' he lectured, putting a bandage on her cheek that was sure to leave a bruise and a nasty scar. ''What am I supposed to do with you?" he sighed.

Y/N laughed. ''But you still love me, don't ya?'' she asked, tone gentle as she stared at him with wide, soft E/C eyes.

It always confused him by how she asked questions like that, soon figuring out she was touch and love-starved and needed the basic reassurance. Something Sam wasn't hesitant to give it to her knowing that she needed it.

''Now and forever, you little rascal.''


	40. Chapter 40

ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵃʸ, ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵃʸ ⁱᵗ  
ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˢᵃʸ, ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵃʸ ⁱᵗ  
ᵒⁿᵉ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵗʰ, ⁱᵗ'ˡˡ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏ ⁱᵗ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Steve looked down at the ground as Y/N glared at him. He wasn't scared of a lot of people, as it was usually the other way around. But this was Y/N, someone he'd grown to know somehow, and she could be threatening when she needed to be.

''What do you mean I'm not going?" she hissed, crossing her arms over her chest as her foot tapped on the ground repeatedly, a small thump echoing around in the room every time it made contact with the surface below her. The blond super solider at the moment could help but seen her as an angry bunny of some sort.

''It's dangerous for the both of us if we head for Serbia, especially with the way we're heading,'' he said, almost flinching back when her glare seemed to darken, but he held his ground.

''Dangerous? Dangerous? Are you serious? You didn't say that sort of thing when you asked me to help you take down SHIELD, or did you forget that?" she snarled, lips turning down into a frown.

Sam sighed from beside the familiar super soldier. ''What he's trying to say, princess, is that we just want to go on this mission alone. It would be for the better. Besides, you were never supposed to be dragged into this in the first place,'' he tried to convince her.

Her glare was now directed towards him. She was dragged into this ever since she was ''situated'' with Hydra. ''I would've gotten dragged into this either way, whether Steve knew me or he didn't. That therapist seemed to be keen on that,'' the woman in the room said.

To say she was irritated would be an understatement. Why the hell did they not want her to go to Serbia with them? Was there something they were hiding for her or something?

They claimed it was the catch the therapist, or whoever that guy was who seemed to be behind everything that was going on. Wanted her to stay out of the spotlight, incase Bucky's trigger words were spoken. It would be hard to take care of one super soldier, they didn't want another problem.

Y/N glanced over to James, who seemed awfully quiet about the situation at hand. He must've felt her eyes on him because he glanced up to meet her E/C ones, but immediately looked back down at the ground.

Her mouth was left open, a bit in shock, but closed it after a while. As much as she was annoyed with the lot of them, she wasn't going to lash out. That wasn't going to fix anything, and she didn't want to end up saying something that she might regret.

"Whatever,'' she mumbled, walking out one of the doors that led to outside, not caring about the protests from the three males as she did so.

☆☆☆

She hadn't gone far, she made sure. It wasn't like she had a choice either. People were probably still looking for the fugitives, and it didn't help that both Hydra, SHIELD, and the government seemed to be on high alert for them, as well.

There were a few cars outside the warehouse that seemed like they hadn't been touched in months. The wheels of the cars were slightly rusted, but Y/N didn't mind tinkering with an old car as she looked up under the hoods on one of them, working in silence.

The trio watch from a distance. The African-American man sighed, ''She's pissed at us. She's going to cars for a distraction,'' he told the two who both raised eyebrows at the breath he'd let out before.

The two super soldiers both felt inclined to do something, anything. The blond had remembered feeling the same way back in the 40s with Peggy when he upset her, the brunet getting some sort of déjà vu from the whole situation.

Steve was actually the first one of the pair to push himself up off the wall and stand up straight, mind set on going over there and walking to her. Convince her that they were going this for the greater food. Sam was just about to let him go before James spoke up.

''..Steve, right?" he asked, sort of hesitant to say the man's name. Afterall, this was claimed to be his best friend, yet he had close to no memories about him. None that his scrambled mind would let him remember at this moment, at least.

''Let me talk to her. Please, just this once?" he asked, metal hand clenched into a fist, almost as if he was scared that the other super soldier would lash out at him for such a suggestion.

But to his upmost surprise, Steve took a step back next to Sam again, lips slightly parted. The shock that Bucky — or James it seemed to be (though he didn't like referring to his best friend by his first name) — was actually here and that was still settling in. If he wanted, James could probably ask him to take over a small country at the moment, and he would do it in a heartbeat.

''Uh, yeah. Sure,'' the words come out of his mouth a bit slowly, before he coughed, clearing his throat. ''Sam, lets go. I need to call a few people,'' he said, the other man nodded as he followed behind the fugitive.

Y/N seemed to acknowledge James making his way over, but didn't look up, seemingly too interested in what she was doing over the roof of the car. Though, she finally did glance up and stare at him square in the eye when he placed a hand on her forearm.

She raised an eyebrow at him, slowly taking the limb away. ''You agreed to it knowing that I would never allow it. What were you thinking?" she questioned, dropping the door. Well, more like slamming it down, but they didn't really care at the moment.

James sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck out of habit. Or maybe it was just every guy that Y/N talked to just did that.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it like Steve would've, okay?" James said, ot caring if the other super soldier could've heard him with his enhanced hearing. ''But you're a liability here, don't you think?"

As much as she wanted to disagree with his words, she couldn't. He was right. If anything, it seemed even more hectic when she was around that what it needed to be. It was almost as if she was changing something. Y̶e̶a̶h̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶l̶i̶n̶e̶.̶

She bit her lip softly, looking over to stare at the cold car. Of course, it wasn't something she hadn't thought about before. The self degradation, as well as causing to make some things lag behind just by her presence alone. Like James, she though a lot. What if she'd escape when she had the choice and didn't go all soft on him. Steve might've found him before shit went to hell. Maybe he could've gotten help sooner if she wasn't-

James grabbed her by her forearm again, but this time spinning her so that she was facing him. ''You aren't a burden, if you were wondering. You never were,'' he told her. The last thing he wanted her to think was that.

She pouted ever so slightly. ''I can fight too, you know! I said I'd protect you! I still stand by that,'' she argued, going back on the statement she'd meant before. Y/N knew that the metal armed man remembered it as well when he sighed.

''And I can do that for now, Y/N. You don't have to,'' he said softly, blue eyes starting to remind her of Axel's, ones that made her weak to do anything. ''You trust me, don't you?"

Y.N sighed, nodding. ''To the ends of the earth. You know this,'' she said, giving him a once over, before narrowing his eyes at her. James almost smirked, knowing that he was almost close. ''Just this once, okay? Any other time, I'm coming with you,'' she said.

She felt her heart stop in her chest when he flashed a smile her way, one of those rare James Barnes smiles that appeared when he was content the most.

S̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶y̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶t̶t̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶ ̶I̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶-̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶.̶

''You better come back alive, you hear me? I don't need you stressing me out,'' she aspirated slightly, jabbing him in the side hard, but with his high pain tolerance, it was barely anything to him.

But what took her by surprise was when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug that had her cheek pressed against his chest, all before placing a kiss on the crown of her head, not noticing how flustered she became.

''You don't have to worry about me anymore, Y/N,'' he said, know his words, made her muscles go slack, a silent tear rolling down her cheek. ''I'll be okay, I promise.''

''You can rest now.''


	41. Chapter 41

ᶠⁱᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵒᵘˢᵃⁿᵈ ᶠᵒᵒᵗˢᵗᵉᵖˢ ⁱⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷᵉᵗ ᵈʳᵉˢˢ  
ᴮᵃᶜᵏ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ʰᵒᵘˢᵉ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵃʳᵐˢ ʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ ᵐʸ ⁿᵉᶜᵏ  
ᵂᵉ ᵈʳᵃⁿᵏ ᵖᵒʳᵏ ˢᵒᵈᵃ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵗᵃⁿᵍˡᵉᵈ ˡᵉᵍˢ  
ᴵ ʷᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᶠᵒʳᵍᵉᵗ ʰᵒʷ ʸᵒᵘ ˡᵒᵒᵏᵉᵈ ᵃᵗ ᵐᵉ ᵗʰᵉⁿ  
ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒ ˢʷᵉᵉᵗ ᵖʳⁱⁿᶜᵉ ᵒᶠ ˡᵒᵛᵉ

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

YEAR 1950 | JANUARY

It was cold in Siberia, but it wasn't like that mattered or anything. The only heat provided was from the coats soldiers were given, as well as scientist and ''therapists'' in the area.

As always, the cries of the power-hungry organization's victims echoed throughout the building. Most of the people in the facility were used to hearing it. To some, they were even like prayers, others falling deaf upon ears.

He still couldn't get over it on some days. A small pit forms in his stomach as he desperately wanted to break out and save whoever they were, but then there was that part of him that already knew that they were long gone and their time of death was near. Whether it be that there were about to die, or the loss of sanity after. The first option seemed to like a blessing, to be honest. 

''Windows'' were actually small openings with thick bars so couldn't really look through them without having an obstacle in your way. Even with saying that, they're way too high up to even reach. Though, he did like it when light shined through the cracks. It was better than the beaming yellow artificial light in his face when he sat in the godforsaken chair. 

He was out of the ice chamber, or whatever it was called. He didn't know why, nor did he know how he even got there, but something inside him told him it was better to not ask questions at all. They'd thrown him into a dark cell with nothing. No blanket or even place to start a fire. Nothing.

So even added with the Siberian cold, it was worse. It nagged away at him like a mouse with cheese, not planning on stopping. At one point, he wondered if he would die from the cold rather than neglection and starvation.

Food was small, not to mention stale. It looked like soup that had all basic nutrients thrown into it so you could survive, but it seemed like the chef didn't care if you liked it or not. The stale bread that held no flavor just added onto how horrible it was.

Blue eyes looked up when the rusted, metal door was opened. Maybe I won't die today, he thought, sighing. He watched as 5 men with rifles entered the room, eyes scanning around the decently sized cell before landing on him. Their eyes basically screamed order.

''Get up,'' the one in front of them all spat, the others behind aiming their guns at him. He didn't know why, though. He hadn't even done anything! Nonetheless, he stood up from the cold ground, feeling his lower half numb, leaving an annoying buzz there.

''Follow,'' the one agent hissed once more, grabbing him by the arm and dragged him out of the cell. While he did that, the others put cuffs on him, the ones that went around his waist so they tug on them. Again, he didn't know why, but didn't comment on it. 

The hallway they were in was even colder than the room, but he couldn't bring himself to even shudder. Even that action alone hurt with the cold numbing his entire being.

Eyes couldn't help but wonder, as they were filled questions, yet no one would answer. Either the people around carried guns or papers, or even some with chains. Was this a formal slaughterhouse, or what?

The room he was brought over to was quite large, but he flinched, the chair in the middle bringing back memories he didn't even know why he had. Did it hurt him? Was it helpful?

Probably not, given by the amount of people in the room. They either held grins on their faces, or blank looks. Maybe, but he might've been seeing things, but some looks of despair.

A hand roughly shoved him down into the chair, but that wasn't before the surrounding chains were off. He stayed silent as he glanced over to the man with a red hat on, looking down at him. He didn't even know he was getting held down until metal clamps were around his legs, waist, and heads. Out of instinct, he tugged against them, though they didn't do much. The man looking down at him smirked.

''Asset,'' he said, making the man look back up to him. ''What's my name?"

It made him try to dig inside his mind to find something about the man that stood right before him, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Thin, pink lips of his own turned down into a frown.

''I don't know,'' he answered honestly. For some strange reason, that made the man's smirk grown into a small grin. ''Good, good,'' he repeated, happy with the answer.

''Now,'' he said, walking around the stand slightly behind the man. It put him on edge as his throat seemed to tighten up. ''What's your name?'' he asked.

He couldn't help but tense up even more at the question this time, for reasons that were unknown (at least to him). Eyebrows became furrowed, eyes darting around the room, but it wasn't like that would be much help to him to find an answer to say to him.

James, the voice reverberated throughout his head. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, though he questioned why it was so hard to find that answer. It was his name, for heaven's sake. Was it him, or were things just starting to get fuzzy.

As the name left him lips, the overall mood in the room darkened, but it wasn't like it was bright in the first place. Some lips turned into frowns, some more even brighter smiles. Others shook their heads as the man in red twirled his finger, a silent order to someone he couldn't see. ''You see, asset,'' he hissed the last word, ''that won't do.''

James wanted to sit up and give him a confused stare, but he couldn't. In fact, the metal camps that held him in place seemed to get even tighter. Before any words could get out of his mouth, pain seemed to swallow him whole.

It was blinding pain that soar through him. Though it seemed like it was focused on his head, it spread all over. The restraints were tugged against more than ever, and when he thought they were going to break, they didn't. The process seemed to repeated and go on forever.

The man beside him was staring down at a book, he could tell so far though he was focus on looking up the ceiling. He read words from the red covered journal aloud. Each one that was spoken seemed to add onto the pain.

Finally, the machine was turned off, causing for his chest to rise and fall rapidly, heaving out labored breaths that could be seen as he continued to look up at the blueish-gray ceiling. He would've continued to do it if the man in red and green hadn't started talking again.

''Good morning, soldier,'' he greeted in the language now as Russian. A permanent blank look rested on said soldier's face as the words willed themselves out of his mouth.

''Ready to comply.''

The man shut the book close, but a wickedly evil grin made it way back onto his face. But not only his, but every one else in the room as far as he could see. It made him uneasy, but didn't show it on his face.

''No witnesses.''

The words seemed to stick with him as he clenched his metal hand.

COLUMBUS, SOUTH CAROLINA | JUNE

Y/N hissed as a wet towel hit her back side, the towel itself dragging her out of her sleep as she threw her pillow towards her assailant. 

''Go away,'' she moaned reaching to grab another pillow during her face in the cotton. She sighed when the person had gone away like she'd asked, finding herself going to grab the last bit of drowsiness in her system. That unfortunately didn't last long as cold after that almost burned was poured on her. 

''SHIT!'' she yelled, hopping up from her mattress that was now soaked, along with herself and clothes. She turned to the attacker, which was her sister who was holding a blue bucket while giggling herself to death.

''You should've seen yourself!'' she laughed hysterically, holding her stomach. ''That's what you get for stayin' up and night and helpin' Papa and Derick with 'em cars,'' she scowled, throwing the bucket down and putting her hands on her hips.

''Come on,'' S/N said, making her way downstairs. ''We gotta help Mama with the coffeehouse down the road,'' she sighed before walking out of the room.

Y/N rolled her eyes at her younger sister, but made her way to her closet, stripping out of her nightgown she'd cut down and changing into a red and white dress, bringing along a small black apron.

She huffed, wishing that she'd bought those jean shorts the other day ago. Carolina summers were nothing to play with, and not to mentions she'd worked in a coffeehouse. Not even the AC's that blasted in the background could help.

Her feet carried her down the stairs, seeing her sister tightening the belt around her waist. Y/N winced as it basically sucking in all of her insides. But Y/N supposed it was better than the corsets she heard her mother and grandmother used to have to wear.

''Ready?" S/N asked, looking back at Y/N who grabbed her bag off the rack near the end of the stairs. Y/N sighed, reaching her hand up to touch her damp, H/C hair that'd she'd have to let the heat dry. She sent a smile as she nodded her head.

''Let's go.''

☆☆☆

Just as always, the coffeehouse was packed as it was in the morning. Men were scattered along the tables and the counter-tops, some even with their wives. Other women trotted around the establishment with cups of coffee and plates of food on top of gray circular trays.

A family owned establishment it was. One of the most popular coffeehouses in the state capital. Y/N couldn't help but gloat about it when she'd go down to Georgia or over to the more so countryside.

''Hey, Dollie!'' someone called, used to grab Y/N's attention, and it did. The H/C-haired woman turned around to face the man. He was dressed in a brown suit with a red-tie. Y/N couldn't help but say that he was handsome, his green eyes started to catch his attention.

She sent him a soft smile. ''What can I get for you today, sir?" she asked, holding a notepad in her hands, along with a pen as she pressed herself against the counter. It was added to enchant him, which it did. His eyes darted down her V-neck, to which he licked his lips.

''Lemme get a black coffee with a tad bit of sugar and maybe a date with your to the movie theater?" he asked. 

The surprise was clearly written on her face before she smiled, suppressing a giggle as she wrote down his order. The drink, not the date. '''I can get you the drink now, but the latter? You might have to have to work a bit harder for that, sir,'' she said with a wink before turning around red and white dress moving with the motion.

Men surrounded the green-eyed man chuckled, putting him on the shoulder. ''You must be new around here, aren't you, son?'' one questioned with a smile, raising his mug in the direction of the E/C-haired woman.

He nodded. ''I'm from Brooklyn. Just tryna' pass through,'' he said. he chuckled a bit. ''But that dollie over there had catch my eyes.

The men and women (secretly) alike chuckled. ''You're not the only one, son. That's F/N's girl who runs the garage down the road. Better be careful, though. She'd a hard one to hold down.''

That made the man smile a bit. How hard would it be to hold a girl down? Just show her a diamond ring and a few stacks of cash and she's yours.

Right?

☆☆☆

It was about 7 pm when Y/N and S/N were wiping down the counters, their mom turning in a while ago. But it was summer, and in the south, they were long, so the sun hadn't even gone all the way down. That made the streets still as they were vibrant with life. 

The bell above the door chimed, making Y/N sighed. It was most like Uncle Tommy again. The elderly white man most likely drunk off his ass again. Sadly, it happened at least twice a week. Y/N wiped her hands down with a towel before turning towards the door. 

''Uncle Tommy, I've told you this before. I'm not Janet from Water's Av. tryin' to— Oh, hello,'' she cut herself off when she saw the green-eyed man again, instead wearing a white button-up with the same red tie he had on before with black dress pants on.

He walked over, a sly grin on his face as he leaned against the counter just as she did before, but it seemed only to heighten his attractive features. ''Heya, Dollie,'' he purred.

Y/N couldn't help the smile that fought it's way onto her face. ''I have a name, you know,'' she replied in a sultry tone. They didn't have name-tags, but almost everyone knew who the workers in the coffeehouse were anyway.

''Right, you're Y/N. I'm Tino, by the way,'' he introduced himself. Y/N hummed, going back to wiping down the counter, though she did it a little slower with Tino right beside her. 

''So, what brings you back around her? It wasn't because of silly ole' me, was it?" she questioned, angling herself in his direction ever so lightly. ''You, and few other things, Dollie.'' It seemed that the nickname was going to be sticking, Y/N thought as she tossed the fabric away, deciding that she'd done enough for the night. She walked around from behind the counter.

''Anywhere you going tonight? It's still outside,'' he asked, making her stare at him weirdly. Most men just tried to get into her pants. or maybe this was a slow way of doing things to eventually get what he wanted. Y/N sighed, shaking her head. She shouldn't be thinking of such a thing right now. 

''No, she's actually free,'' S/N said from behind her, made Y/N whip around to her sister, looking at her with wide eyes. ''What? This is the longest you've let a man other than Pa and Derick stick around. Go on,'' S/N said, not giving her a chance as she pushed her out of the coffee house, Tino holding her things as he followed behind. S/N went the extra mule to lock to door behind the duo.

Y/N sighed, turning back to Tino with an awkward grin on her face as she got her things. ''Sorry about that,'' she said, rubbing at the nape of her neck. ''Siblings, am I right?" They chuckled together, beginning to walk down the sidewalk. 

''So, about that theater,'' Tino started, causing for the H/C-haired woman to look over at him. ''It should still be open on a summer night like this. Do you maybe wanna head over there now?" he asked her. 

Y/N shook her head, causing his lips to turn down into a frown. ''My pops owns a garage a little ways down here but he tends to overwork himself. I gotta check on him here and there,'' she answered him. 

Tino's smile reappeared. It would be better to meet the father now so marriage plans could run along more smoothly. He should've bought booze, he cursed to himself. 

''Well, what man would I be if I let a dame like you walk the streets alone?" he said, draping an arm around her shoulders.

The woman rolled her eye. He was trying too hard, but it wouldn't hurt to find a different way to push him away. 

☆☆☆

The doors to the garage creaked open loudly, the noise most likely alerting whoever was inside of their presence. Y/N took off the black apron she wore and tossed it onto the ground with her other things as she skipped further into the establishment. 

''Papa, Derick? I'm back!'' she called out. When she didn't get a response, she turned to Tino, gesturing for him to follow her. 

''They're probably in the back,'' she told the red-tied man. "'They get so into it, they forget to acknowledge anything else,'' she teased, looking up to see Derick standing near her father, both sharing words as he passed over a pair of pliers. 

The man in question looked up at her words with pursed lips and a raised brow. ''As if you don't get into the mood either, Miss L/N,'' he teased back, watching as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Derick looked over to the man who stood behind her, face now morphing into one with a mixture of amusement and shock. ''Who's this lad over here?" he asked, nudging Mr. L/N in the shoulder. ''Seems as if our girl finally got herself a man.''

Y/N's father's looked up at that, E/C eyes observing the somewhat well-dressed man with sharp eyes. Tino had to stop himself from withering away under the old man's stare.

''Well,'' he started, emptying one of his hands and taking off his glove. ''Our Y/N doesn't just bring any man back here. I'M F/N L/N,'' he said, extending a hand out. 

Tino took it. ''Tino Carpen. Nice to meet you,'' he said, a light smile on his face. ''And I suppose I'll take that as a compliment. I'm special aren't I?"

F/N chuckled. ''You sure as hell better.'' he motions to come forward. ''C'mon over 'ere,'' he said. 

Tino questioned as to why Y/N decided to follow as well, but didn't say anything as they followed the man over to see a covered by a grayish sheet. 

L/N pulled it back, revealing a hunter green Lincoln Continental. Tino let out a low wolf whistle as Y/N let out a squeal. ''They don't really see these in the shops up North,'' the man said with an approving nod. ''Especially that customized like this. The paint-job is good.''

''Is it a '42, Papa?" Y/N asked, running her fingers along the exterior of the car, then over to the beige overhead of the machinery. F/N shook her head. ''Close. '40,'' he answered.

''It's yours,'' he said, to which Tino sighed. Was he really accepted into the family that quick? Well, it was better than nothing. He even got a new car out of it.

''Thank you, sir—'' ''Thanks Papa!'' Y/N exclaimed, spreading her arms wide and tackling her father into a hug to which the older L/N chuckled. 

Tino watched confused as Y/N ran to glance at the engine, the grin on her face growing. ''A 292 L-head 12 cylinder engine! I haven't seen any of these in a while,'' she said. 

''Yeah, because that mother of yours wants to be working at the coffeehouse, not down here,'' he Derick said, which again caused for Y/N to stick her tongue out at him.

''It's that Smith's boys car. One 'em higher ups, so be careful,'' he said, making Y/N nod her head. They picky, that was to be sure. She didn't worry though. She was good with cars.

Tino followed behind F/N, glancing back at Y/N every once and a while. ''Uh, sir, you let a woman work under the hood of a car?'' he asked with a raised eyebrow. ''Sure that she's not going to get hurt or mess something up?''

Derick sighed, wiping his hands on his already ruined overall. ''You're not from around here, yeah? Well, here in Columbus, there's one thing we don't say about Y/N over there,'' he said, jabbing a finger in her direction.

''That ain't no regular woman.''

☆☆☆

Y/N huffed as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She was finally done. Her dress clung onto her body in all the wrong areas. God, the summer nights were the hardest to deal with, and despite living here her whole life, she never got used to them. There wasn't even a small gust of wind to come through the open windows.

''Done, girly?" he father called. She looked over, seeing him seated with Tino and Derick, shot glasses full as they conversed with one another. She nodded, loosening the belt around her waist.

''Just gotta throw some things in the alleyway, that's all!'' she called back, carrying the slightly heavy box of unwanted parts towards the back door. She didn't hear a response from her father, so she was sure he was fine with it.

Her labored breathing rang in her ears as she finally dropped the body onto the ground. It wouldn't matter if she let it down gently or not. Some hobos in the alleyway or the trashmen would go get it soon anyway.

''I really need to stop pulling there allnighters,'' she said to herself as she shook her head. It wouldn't help with her in the future when she needed to get a decent amount of sleep for rush hour days.

Just as she was about to turn to leave, a rustling noise from down the alleyway met her ears, making her look that way. She thought her chances over. Do something stupid, or get the shotgun.

''Hello?" she called out. ''Anyone out there?" she asked. She was sure that she sounded somewhat confident, but one of her hands gripped tightly onto the ends of her dress. It was her flight senses kicking in, though she forced herself to stay put.

She didn't get a response, to which she didn't now whether to be glad or worried as she sighed, shaking her head as she entered the building, the noise soon to be forgotten.

2 WEEKS LATER

''You're leaving?"

S/N asked both of their parents as they sat down at the table for dinner. Her spoon stopped a few inches away from her mouth before she dropped it back down into her plate. 

''Not for long,'' M/N said. ''Mrs. Jackson wanted us to visit, but we still need you to work the coffeehouse,'' she said, causing for Y/N to shrug her shoulders while S/N pouted. The older sibling didn't mind staying home alone. She'd done it numerous times before. Besides, she would still be able to work on the cars in the workshop so—

''And that's why the workshop will be closed until we get back,'' F/N said, causing for Y/N to spit out some of the sweat tea that was in her mouth. S/N gagged at her behavior while M/N looked at her disapproved.

''Wait, what?" Y/N asked, wiping her mouth with a paper towel. ''But you never lock-up the workshop. That hasn't happened in years!'' she protested. M/N shook her head.

''You spent too much time in the darn workshop. What time did you get back last night?" she asked with a knowing look, brow raised as she started at her oldest daughter.

A strained laugh came from Y/N, knowing that she'd arrived home at the wee hours of the night, drifting almost into dawn as the sun was beginning to rise. It was unhealthy, she knew, but was something like that going to stop her? No. 

''Just as I thought,'' the oldest female L/N in the room said. ''Honestly, I don't understand your obsession with those cars. It's not a woman's job,'' M/N said. ''At your age, you should be planning on getting married,'' she lectured. ''Cook at S/N. I heard she got a boyfriend already.''

A sheepish blush made its way onto S/N's face, which caused for Y/N to roll her eyes.It was usually suppose to be the other way around, when S/N was suppose to look up to her. Instead, he mom wanted be just like S/N. An obedient daughter, great housewife, and having children within her first few years of marriage. 

Originally, F/N wanted a son as their firstborn, though he accepted it when he got a daughter. He decided to raise her up the same way he would do as his son. Working in the yard and at the garage. She gained more muscle than the average girl, but she didn't really care.

''It's that Johnny boy, isn't it?" M/N asked, a bit happy as she spoke to S/N, something that Y/N was always envy of. ''Rich boy, is he now? The sooner the marriage, the better.''

The younger woman could almost scoffed. That's what it all seemed to come down to. How much money they made, and how much would go to the bride's family.

In other words, the world they lived in was utter shit, to be honest.

☆☆☆

The front door closed as their parents left, the truck humming would be heard until they were far away, the sound now non-existent to them. Both Y/N and S/N sighed, collapsing onto those couches. The ones your parents never let you rest your ass on.

''Finally,'' S/N sighed. ''I love them, but they're too much,'' she said. Y/N nodded her head to agree. ''Tell me about it,'' she added on.

She giggled as she sat up from the couch. "Well, I've got better things to do,'' she said, running up the stairs. Confused and curious, Y/N went after her.

''What do you mean by that?" she asked, following the girl into her bedroom, leaning against the doorway as the younger kin hurriedly got out of the clothes were was in prior, instead hopping into a bright pink dress with a blue headbow.

''Well, Johnny asked me out the other day!'' she exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. ''And because Mama and Papa aren't here, this could be perfect!'' she announced.

Y/N's eyes widened, looking as if she'd just seen a ghost. ''Are you out of your mind?" she screeched slightly. ''What if word gets out about you with that rich boy? Mama will have my head for letting you go out this late, or at all!'' 

S/N rolled her eyes. ''Calm down already, will you? I'm just staying over at his house. I'll be back by morning,'' she assured, packing a baby pink nightgown in her brown leather purse.

Y/N rolled her eyes just as her sister did before her. ''I swear, that man just wants to get his dick wet tonight. Why else would he want you over at—'' Y/N glanced over at the clock, ''—10 pm?"

She must've struck a nerve because S/n's face seemed to turn slightly red. ''That's not what he wants, Y/N! How would you know? Johnny loves me!'' she exclaimed, hands clenched into fist.

The other woman in the room stared blankly. ''Because all men nowadays want the same thing. Sex, money, and power. And if it's just not sex, a woman they put on their shoulders to keep as a trophy. Please do enlighten me if he's the same, 'cause there's a chance he treats his car better than you.''

''You don't even know what love is! When is the last time you've even gotten a boy? Tino's clearly into you, if you hadn't noticed!'' S/N said, well, more like yelled. Her voice seemed to keep rising in volume.

''If your definition of ''love'' is dating a man for four weeks, and then the next step in your relationship is marriage. I don't want it,'' Y/N said with narrowed eyes. ''Don't dedicate your life your life to a man who you don't know will grow tired of you.''

Her younger sister huffed, grabbing her bag and passing Y/N who stood in the doorway. ''You really have a bad way of saying it,'' she hissed. Her heels clicked against the floor and down the stairs, making Y/N wince as the door slammed shut.

She watched out the window she the hunter green Lincoln Cont., which looked black in the summer night's headlights turned on,. S/N jumped in, smile on her face as she stared at the Smith boy. 

Y/N's lips turned down into a frown. Maybe her sister was right.

Maybe she didn't know what love was.

☆☆☆

It was early in the morning. Early in which the sun was starting to rise. She hadn't pulled an allnighter, but something had awaken her at such an ungodly hour of the day, so instead of just laying in bed, she decided to do something productive until she needed to leave.

An orange dress is what she decided to wear for the day. It was a bit short, so she didn't allow herself to wear it outside. Besides, she didn't need to show it off for anyone. She'd just bought it for herself.

She sighed as she picked up a watering can, the crystal clear water pouring out the tomatoes. It was something soothing to do, she supposed. The morning was quiet so far and she's just basked in the golden hour of the day. 

S/N remained on her mind for most of the time she was outside. Mostly because of her nerves about being caught and scolded by her mother, yes, but as well as sibling instincts. Constantly, she had to remind herself that she was okay. Because it was S/N, it just had to be. 

As most of the plants in the garden were finished being waters, she returned the watering can to where it was from. Dusting off the ends of the tangerine dress, she made her way back inside, closing the back door behind her. 

The kettle slowly began to scream, signalling its boiling point as the grits neared finishing. The bacon sat covered in a few napkins in a plastic bowl as Y/N made the table out of habit despite being the only one present. It was most likely for S/N when she came back, but she'd hoped that the Smith boy would feed her. Then again, this was S/N. She'd probably want some bacon when she got back anyway.

The H/C-haired woman nodded to herself, stirring the grits counter-clockwise the way her mother raised her to do so as she made up her mind. Along doing so, she hummed a few nursery rhymes to herself.

That all stopped when she heard a few clangs in the back near the garden. At first, she brushed it off, probably just a rabbit getting into some of the tools she'd have to go back and fix later, but that thought was put to rest when the back door was slammed open, probably off its hinges as a scream left the woman.

Her mind went into overdrive. Papa's shotgun was upstairs, so she'd have no time to go grab it with the back door off right behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the hallway. Instead, Y/N shuffled through the shelves, opting on a pan that had started rusting over the years.

Her heart beat loudly in her ears, but the sound of heavy footsteps making their way towards the kitchen seemed to be louder as she gripped the handle to the pan tighter, knuckles turning white.

Y/N hadn't even known she'd hardly been breathing until the intruder was standing in the doorway, heavy labored breathing ringing through the room as she stared into the person's lips.

Cold blue? she questioned herself as she stood frozen. Though, the unnecessary thought vanished as the man continued to walk forward. ''G-get back!'' she stuttered out with a shaky voice, though as she tried to back away, all that was behind her was the turned off stove. ''I mean it,'' she shouted once more as he ignored her before.

Y/N couldn't have hidden her surprise when he'd taken a seat at the set table, throw his head back, dark brown locks moving along with him. Only then did she notice his labored breaths as well and clutching his stomach.

The pan in her hand only lowered a bit, brows furrowed slightly. "Are you hurt or something?" she asked, voice not as shaky as before.

The man's dark blue eyes opened again. For the most part, his face was blank, but his eyes told a different story. Y/N almost scoffed when she looked into his that basically screamed, ''What does it look like?''

Y/N's mind was running at a million miles an hour. A man just broke inter her house after ripping the door off its hinges, but could also possibly be bleeding out in the kitchen. Damn her morals, she hissed to herself, silently gulping as she reached under the table he seated at, shaking under his gaze as she grabbed the med kit there.

He didn't waste anytime taking it out of her hands. When he did, she could now see the blood on his hands. Lifting up his shirt, he started.

She winced when he didn't bother wiping the blood away as he began to stitch up the wound. Y/N noted the other dozen scars and risen skin with different pigment. Jesus, what had this guy gone through. 

She turned back to the stove, shaky hands pouring grits into a bowl, adding in some bacon there. When she turned around, she flinched when the man was still watching her with even more narrowed eyes.

Those eyes of his flickered down to the bowl in his hands, narrowed at it as if it was a disease. ''It's not poisonous or anything if your were wondering about that?" she said as she sat it down in front of him, placing a spoon next to it as well.

Y/N didn't bother sitting down to eat with him, or eat at all as she kept her eyes on him/ She wasn't going to get too comfortable with him, but she didn't watch as he scarfed down the food, eating it like a man starved. Maybe he was, Y/N thought to herself, but she didn't know.

The man panted after her was done with the food given to him. Y/N felt herself tensing more as he stood up from the table, no pain ever flashing over his face even with the stitches he had just applied as he made his way over to her. 

''G-get away,'' she stuttered, moving away from him in a hurried manner, but he was quicker, his hand wrapping itself around her neck.

Cold, she noticed his fingers were as they tightened around her neck. As each second passed, the grip only seemed to get tighter.

''No witness,'' he heard him mumbled, ''but..''

She didn't hear the rest of what he had to say as the dark spots that decorated themselves in her vision finally overtook it all, and Y/N felt her body go limp.

☆☆☆

''Hey loser, get up!''

S/N's voice rang out in her ears as Y/N's eyes slowly began to open. Only then did she register the pain from her neck up to her head, the pounding in her head signifying a growing headache.

''Shit,'' she swore under her breath, slowly sitting up from the couch. Her hand reach up to her neck, expecting it to be bare, but instead coming in contact with a hardened material. Glancing down the best she could, she saw one of her mother's big necklaces.

''Fell asleep or something?" S/N asked, gesturing to the girl who laid on the couch. ''Anyways, you made some food more me, didn't you?" she asked, heading towards the kitchen.

Y/N, other other hand, was confused. She remembered the man. It couldn't have been a dream, right? The pain in her neck was there, but that might've been the fact she fell asleep with the thick necklace on, but then again, she didn't remember going to asleep.

She leapt to her feet, following behind her younger sister, but not before stopping in the hallway, looking down at the end of it.

The door was still on it's hinges.

SEPTEMBER

Y/N didn't want to seem like a crazy person, so maybe that's why she didn't tell anyone. Though the bruised on her neck when she took the necklace said otherwise. Those were hand-marks she knew.

It left her on edge, as she recalled that day. It felt at if someone's eyes were always on her, an no, she didn't mean men from the coffeehouse. No, these felt more intense, intrusive, even following her when she was in her home.

''Are you okay?" Tino asked from beside her. Y/N glanced over at him in his black tuxedo. Right, her mind had drifted again. Y/N nodded, adjusting the pink dress she was in. 

''I'm fine,'' she said, glancing over at S/N — now S/N Smith — dancing with her husband John Smith. Newlyweds, the words rang through her head. It left a weird feeling inside of her head.

''That should be you next,'' M/N said, coming up from out of nowhere as she pointed towards her sister and her brother-in-law.

Tino chuckled. ''I don't know, Ms. L/N, Y/N is a hard one to crack. It might take a hundred years to marry this dame,'' he said, to which M/N tutted. I need some grandchildren from both my girls as soon as possible,'' she said, chuckling along with Tino.

The stare from whoever from whoever was watching her now seeming to be burning into her soul as she rubbed her hand over her arm awkwardly before standing up. ''I have to go to the bathroom,'' she said, not waiting for anyone's response as she did so.

☆☆☆

''Hello, Puppy.''

Y/N couldn't bring herself to flinch she saw him walk up to her in the corner of her eyes. For the most part, she paid him no mind as she tended to her garden.

She had moved into her own house a while ago, to the more rural parts to the southern state. She knew her sister or parents didn't like going out there, so it was perfect. In the beginning, it was to get away from her family, but the MO seemed to change when the feeling of someone staring at her became more frequent. She then felt the urge to do it out of love of her family.

Of course, she ended her ''relationship'' with Tino in the process. It wasn't for her in the first place, and everything about it seemed forced to just please her parents. She didn't stick around to see the green-eyed man's reaction as her father drove her out to her new house.

Anyways, it seemed to help a bit with the whole move. Of course, it felt as if her eyes were always watching her, yes, but instead of watching her from a distance, he let himself inside.

At the moment he said, she started leaving her door unlocked. That way he'd get out the habit of breaking her door of its hinges and then repair it, but when she did, he locked the doors. Y/N remembered smiling to herself softly. When she returned home, looking like a weirdo probably as she stared down at her doorknob.

"Don't keep your door unlocked. That's dangerous,'' she remembered him saying to her as she unlocked the door and walked into her home. ''That's dangerous.''

''Says that man that breaks into my home,'' Y/N huffed as she plopped her bag down on the couch, the mans eyes following her. ''Stop taking my door off then. Use a lock-pick or come through the window or something,'' she told.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes before nodding. ''I'll do that.''

Y/N found at that he doesn't talk much. It was either on some days he didn't talk at all, or it was one-worded responses. Because of that, she always tried her hardest to get a response longer than three words out of them.

Also, that he didn't give out his name. Or maybe he didn't have one. Everything she'd asked, he'd respond with something like ''soldier'', ''asset'', or ''#56898''. It made Y/N frown. She'd tell him those aren't actual names, but he'd ignored her.

So, she made a game up with him, though sometimes (most of the time) it was one sided. Anyways each time he'd come over, she'd give him new nickname. Y/N would watch amusement as his eyebrows would furrow and he'd mumble the name under his breath. One time, he told her not to call him ''Puppy,'', but she swore he blushed a bit.

H̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶p̶o̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶i̶c̶k̶n̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶.

He hummed. His blue eyes watched as she water her plants. It was getting chilly, though September did have its warm days, she'd have to harvest the foods soon so when winter finally came.

Puppy — Y/N's favorite nicknames for the man — likes to come near golden hour. She figured he likes to watch the sun rise as much as she did, so she started to wake up around that time so she could see him. Of course, he came around the end of the day, but the morning was where it was for him.

''Winter's coming soon, you know,'' Y/N said, looking up from the plants and over to sunrise. ''I've never liked being alone during it, so maybe you'll keep coming here soon,'' she said with a sigh.

As expected, he remained quiet, not that Y/N minded. His loud presence seemed to be good enough for Y/N as she dusted off the ends of her clothes.

He watched with curious eyes. The light breeze made her H/C hair move along with it ever so slightly. She looked almost angelic as the sun made contact with her skin, it becoming a golden color as she sighed again. He wasn't sure if it was because of the work she'd done, or she was content.

''Sun,'' he said, making her look up at him.

''What?" she asked, turning to him fully. He seemed a bit nervous as he made eye contact with her, moving to stand a bit closer next to her.

''You were giving me names, right. Your name now is.. Sun,'' he said hesitantly. 

It was Y/N's turned to become flustered now. Her face felt warm, and she knew it was because of the actual sun. ''Whatever,'' she mumbled.

A small smile appeared on James' face.


	42. DISCONTINUED

After the death of Chadwick Boseman, I don't think I can continue this book. Though, even so, its been a thought in my mind for a while now, so its nothing new. I hope yiu all understand, and feel frew to rewrite this if you'd like, as long as you give credit! 

Wakanda Forever!


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